Generations: Tales of the Last Stand
by Charlotte1
Summary: Alecia Malfoy, Rachel Weasley and Katie Potter are starting their 2nd year at Hogwarts. A shadow haunts Leshia's footsteps, a shadow that reminds her awfully of a memory she is sure cannot be possible? What has her father hidden from her all these years?
1. Part One

Title: **Generations: Tales of the Last Stand**

Part II in my Generations series 

Disclaimer: I own nothing, but the words and the original characters. The rest of this world belongs to the talented JK Rowling, so please don't sue, I have nothing, I'm a poor student :-)

Summary: Leshia, Katie, Rachel and their friends and enemies are all back for another action-packed year at Hogwarts. Dark happenings around the wizarding world – and some a little too close for comfort – all point to the blindingly obvious fact that Voldemort is soon to return in some form or other. While most of the school are blissfully unaware of the dark events going on around them, our favourite next generation trio are dropped in at the deep end. Meanwhile, Leshia becomes convinced that she is being followed by something sinister from her past, but is this a figment of her over reactive imagination, or is she in real danger? Draco and Hermione are still adjusting to life as a married couple, and when a new beautiful teacher at Hogwarts takes an interest in Draco, are Hermione's suspicions of this new threat real, or merely due to her jealousy? With Katie developing ahead of her friends, and Leshia's body refusing to grow up, tensions are beginning to show through in the unbreakable friendship.

**People who will like this story: **Next generation fans, Draco/Hermione fans, fans of my story Finding Home…oh come on, give it a try:)

Enjoy…

PART I 

The girl woke with a start in the dead of night with a terrible sinking feeling. The 'dream' that had been plaguing her nights all summer always left her feeling this way, with a cold sweat running down her brow, and the knowledge that she wouldn't find sleep again that night. After a quick glance at the clock above her desk, the girl groaned, it was still only four-o clock. That meant there was still four hours before she and her father Draco would be making their way to the quidditch event of the decade: the final of the quidditch World Cup. What made this event more exciting was that England was playing. After a very shaky start in the tournament, the seven English flyers had finally got their act together and though far from being a dead cert to win, they were capable of doing so.

Four hours, a long time for a very excitable twelve-year-old girl. Leshia, as was this girl's name, was more excited than most, and it wasn't the idea of watching this legendary quidditch match that had her in such spirits – though arguably it didn't hinder her mood – no, it was the prospect of meeting up with her best friends: Katie Potter and Rachel Weasley. All their summer plans to meet up had been dashed by illness; injury; sick relatives; surprise visits from friends and family and even at one point, a rogue hurricane. Not seeing her partners in crime had put a damper on Leshia's summer holiday, though they had not ruined it entirely. The reason for this being the quality time she was able to spend with her mother Hermione, who had only recently been rescued from a six-year capture.

Following their six year separation it would seem the mother and daughter had lots to catch up on and they relished in the weekends around Britain to look for fascinating Runes for Hermione's lessons – she was taking her new appointment as Runes teacher at Hogwarts the wizarding school very seriously, the day trips to Diagon Alley, redecorating their dilapidated London townhouse and especially their two week family holiday in China. Draco too took pleasure in most of these activities, though he flat out refused to go on any historical weekend trips and after witnessing their first day trip to Diagon Alley – filled with tea-drinking, clothes shopping, book toting madness – he decided to stay at home whenever they headed into town, unless he desperately needed something that he trusted neither of them to get.

Life at the Malfoy house was now back to normal, if not better, as each night every single member of this family would go to bed knowing how lucky they were to have one and other. And now, at four in the morning, Leshia was pondering this once more. Life with Draco had been great. She was a definite daddy's little girl despite her fast approaching teenagerhood, but growing up a motherless wretch had been difficult and the girl was amazed by the things she could talk to her mother about. She had always believed that she could talk to Draco about anything and everything, but after a few months back in the care of her mother she realised how wrong she was.

Her main concern was her distinct lack of growth, in any direction! She could eat and eat and eat and still not put on any weight, she remained a scrawny looking little thing. Height-wise she wasn't growing either, that was for sure, and now that the girl was a few months short of her thirteenth birthday, she was beginning to wonder when other developments would start appearing. Katie and Rachel had both been displaying signs of normal pubescent growth, but as yet, Leshia remained child-like.

"Someone put a curse on me when I was a baby didn't they?" she had demanded one particular rainy and miserable Saturday, when her trip into London to visit her friends had been cancelled due to Hagrid dropping by unannounced at the Potters and Rachel's little sister Hermia falling down a well. Her mother's reaction had been less than comforting, as Hermione uttered something reminiscent of a snigger. "They did didn't they? So I would stay a child forever!" Her mother's assurances that she too was a late bloomer had not been comforting, and yet, the thought that she could discuss such things with her mother at any time she wanted was exceedingly comforting. She certainly couldn't talk about woman's issues with her father. Draco had walked in on one of these discussions one day, and proceeded to blush a furious red and walk out again knocking over a whole row of books without even noticing.

And yet, for all that, they still continued to be impossibly close. A daddy's girl she remained, but now, she was also a mummy's girl, and the family couldn't have been happier. As Leshia looked over the clippings she'd been gathering of the England team's flops and triumphs, she couldn't believe her luck: to actually watch the final from a VIP box. Proclaiming these seats had been a joint effort by their good family friends Harry Potter and Arthur Weasley – who would be among the mass group of twenty-five Potters, Weasleys and Malfoys going on this trip. Arthur Weasley, Rachel and Katie's grandfather, was now a highly esteemed wizard in the ministry. Many had looked to him to take over before Crayik was elected, but Arthur didn't wish for such a life, when would he find time to tinker with his muggle toys?

England were going to be playing Bulgaria, a team that had been consistently good for decades. Their captain, the now venerable and highly esteemed Viktor Krum would be making his final international appearance and the thought of seeing this legendary player in the flesh had had Leshia and her friends on tenterhooks all summer. They were holding a Krum Countdown and even before Leshia had gone to bed she had crossed off the last box, as it had been after midnight when the girl finally nodded off to sleep. Outside the sun was rising and Leshia decided that there was no hope of sleep so she crawled from her bed and headed silently over to her door. There was silence in the house beyond, so after slipping into her slippers she pushed her door open and crept out along the creaky landing. Over their years of living in the townhouse Leshia had become an expert at avoiding all the major creaking patches on the landing and the worst offending stairs, so by the time she got downstairs she'd made the least amount of noise possible and was satisfied that she hadn't woken her parents.

As her feet touched the first of the slate tiles in the hallway she looked instinctively to the cracked one she had been seeing almost every night in her dreams. Everything, from the three major cracks snaking out from the now softened dent, to the strange star-like pattern the jar had made when it thudded into the tile were exactly as her dream had predicted. As she ran her fingers over the rugged cracks in the beautifully old tile the skin started to creep on the back of her neck.

"_Leshia….no!" _The spectre of her father's startled and anguished cry seemed to permeate from the walls and in surprise Leshia jumped back knocking into the console table, which in turn deposited its load onto the ground. The vase that now lay broken on the tiles had not been a precious item, but the sound it made reverberated round the lofty hall and up to the landing.

"What are you doing?" her father's amused voice came, but he did not appear at the top of the stairs, instead he appeared from the kitchen smiling tiredly.

"It was an accident," Leshia quickly exclaimed.

"You know," Draco said fondly, crouching down by the vase and pointing his wand at the broken shards. After a silent incantation on his part, the pieces flew back into their original shape and the vase was fixed. "You've been spending an unusual amount of time lurking around the hall this summer," he continued and he got back to his feet regarding his daughter with a half raised head and suspicion in his eyes. "Something the matter? Should we redecorate? Your mother's torn apart the rest of the house, I was hoping we could leave at least one room in tact."

"Well…" Leshia said and she looked from the cracked wall to the tile beneath the stairs. "It's looking a bit slummy," she continued with a shrug. "Like that crack, can't be repair that?" She gauged her father's reaction, but he merely looked over his shoulder and shrugged.

"It's never really bothered me, it's an old house," he countered. Leshia nodded vaguely. "Anyway, what are you doing up? You know, aside from demolishing your mother's conveniently placed feminine touches," he said with a smile and started ambling back to the kitchen. Leshia quickly followed and found that Draco had been working – something that had bothered Leshia a lot this summer was that the ministry, taking advantage of Draco's holiday, had been posting him top secret work that they could only use his help with and Draco was so eager for repentance that he hadn't refused it – as the dining table was buried under a trail of parchments and documents.

"I couldn't sleep," Leshia replied and she dropped down in the chair beside her father's, absent-mindedly looking over the strewn documents.

"Neither could I," Draco said with an excited smile. "I've been looking forward to this for months…well, not the part about having to share a tent with more Weasleys than I can handle." Leshia giggled and pictured him sharing a bunk bed with Ron, who happened to be snoring raucously driving everyone to distraction in Leshia's fantasy – though she had it on good authority from Rachel that sometimes Ron's snoring could get quite unbearable. "Look," Draco suddenly said and he sounded so serious that Leshia dragged herself out of her happy daydream and looked him in the eyes. He was looking concerned. "I'm sorry if I haven't really been around this summer, but I thought you and your mother…"

"Dad it's fine, what are you talking about?" Leshia asked worriedly, she didn't like it when her father faltered.

"I don't know," Draco sighed and he looked back to his work, fingering the corner of a document absent-mindedly. "I guess I've just missed you that's all…" Leshia frowned and instead of stating the obvious that she'd been there the whole time, she reached out and put her arm around his shoulder. She'd been feeling the same. It was wonderful to have Hermione back where she belonged, but the focus had rather been on her reintegration into the family, and Leshia and Draco's special bond had been relegated to the back seat for a while. "Listen to me," Draco suddenly chuckled brusquely, trying to cover up his emotions. "I sound like an old woman, just tired that's all sweetheart."

"Have you even gone to bed?" his daughter asked sounding concerned. Draco shrugged.

"It had to get done," he said meekly.

"No it didn't, you're such a swot dad, it's like asking for extra homework," Leshia complained and she pushed the documents away. "You're going to bed!" she said firmly and she jumped to her feet trying to drag him up by his elbow. Draco laughed genially and after casting the half-finished case-file a grim look he realised Leshia was right so he got to his feet and allowed his excitable young daughter to drag him back up the creaky stairs to his bedroom door, beyond which Hermione was still sleeping soundly.

"It's okay," he laughed when Leshia was all set on pushing him in. "I can manage from here. You should get some sleep too you know."

"I'll try," Leshia countered with a smile and she headed back across the landing to see she had everything packed. "Sweet dreams dad!"

XXX

Just under four hours later and Leshia was awoken from a dreamless sleep by a clattering in the hallway. Looking at her clock she realised it was nearly time for their scheduled departure on the portkey for their area and a sliver of panic ran through her. She leapt from her bed tripping over her bag as she went.

"Ow," she groaned as she lifted herself up from the ground, reaching to her cheek and rubbing it painfully where she had bitten it in her fall. The hot sensation of blood filling her mouth made her want to wretch. "Mum!" she called out sounding pained, but it would seem that Hermione was otherwise detained on the landing as the sound of her parents talking wafted in through the door. With a cringe Leshia swallowed the blood in her mouth and made her way over to the door, pulling it open to reveal Draco bent double in laughter and Hermione watching him with fond bemusement. "Dad," Leshia tried pathetically and both her parents instantly spun around and saw Leshia clasping her cheek with the makings of tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" Hermione asked sounding very concerned and she rushed over enveloping her daughter in her arms.

"I fell and bit my cheek," Leshia managed.

"Ooh," Draco exclaimed with a wince, having seen Leshia's bloodstained mouth when she spoke. He walked over too and crouched down in front of her. "Open you mouth," he ordered gently. Leshia complied as a tear trickled down her cheek.

"_Lumos_," Draco uttered and he pointed his wand light inside his daughter's mouth revealing four cuts on the inside of her right cheek. He bit his lip thoughtfully and then looked up at his wife. "Over to you," he then managed brusquely and he climbed to his feet moving out of Hermione's way. She gave him a fond look and took his place, taking out her own wand.

"Oh, sweetheart," she exclaimed when she saw the damage. "Don't worry, it's easily put right," she then added comfortingly and she gave her daughter a reassuring smile, while Draco crouched behind Leshia wrapping his arms around her. "Draco? Light?"

"Oh sorry." Leaning round Draco aimed his wand in the direction of Leshia's open mouth and Hermione went about silently fixing the cuts. This only took a matter of moments and soon the pain was gone and excitement had taken over.

"Come _on_ dad, we have to hurry," Leshia suddenly exclaimed the moment the pain had gone and she rushed off to the bathroom to wash her mouth out. Draco stood up fully and looked at Hermione with a 'go on then' look. She smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Leshia?" she called after her daughter.

"Yeah?" came the gargling reply from the bathroom.

"How would you feel if I joined you and your father on your trip?" she asked. Hermione and Draco looked to one and other when no reply came, but when the sound of choked coughing filled their ears they realised why.

"See," Draco said as though this was all the proof they needed of his conviction that it was a very bad idea for Hermione to come along. Hermione gave him a fond sarcastic smile, before Leshia suddenly appeared on the landing again looking surprised and red in the face from her coughing bout.

"You want to come?" she asked wearily, knowing full well Hermione's opinions on Quidditch. At first the young woman had quite enjoyed it, but with some new rule regulations, it had grown decidedly more violent and ever since Draco was knocked cold for an entire week when he played for the ministry side back when Leshia was barely a toddler, she had turned decidedly prickly towards the sport. Hearing of Leshia's exploits in the game had not helped Hermione-quidditch relations much either. Ignoring the suspicious look on Leshia's face, and the smug smile on Draco's, Hermione smiled brightly.

"Yes, I do," she said firmly. Leshia glanced to Draco, silently asking him whether her mother was being serious. He grinned fondly at her and shrugged his shoulders.

"Why?" Leshia asked. Hermione made an exasperated sigh and indicated her watch.

"Look, you two can stand here and make fun of me all you want, but I'm coming, and if we don't set off now we'll miss the port-key," Hermione complained feeling a bit put out that Leshia had reacted exactly in the same way Draco had, though arguably, Draco had expressed more mirth than their daughter at the idea of Hermione wanting to watch a Quidditch match.

This seemed to bring Leshia back to her senses and she rushed to her room to grab her belongings. Hermione looked at Draco with a look that dared him to try to object, but he merely chuckled warmly and kissed his wife's forehead.

"I'm happy you're coming," he said lovingly and then rushed off to get his own bags. Soon the small family was rushing up the road with their bags in tow, heading for a house round the corner where another wizarding family had set up a port-key to the grounds in France. It didn't take them long to reach the grand townhouse and even before they had made their way up the path to the front door, it swung open revealing the jolly face of Michael Summers, a once-work associate of Draco's.

"Cutting it a bit fine aren't you Malfoy?" he laughed jovially and he helped the family through to the parlour where several other witches and wizards were waiting patiently for their arrival. Draco clapped his friend on the back heartily as the Malfoys joined the circle.

"Perfect timing Michael, there's a difference," Draco told him.

"It's just coming up to eight-o clock in ten seconds," Summers announced. " Everyone ready?" In a rush everyone reached forward and placed a finger on the small bowl standing in the middle of the circular console table. " See you all on the other side," he then cheered jovially as every single one of the travellers felt a hook like sensation behind their belly buttons and then the unpleasant sensation of swirling towards the centre of the bowl. After several unpleasant moments everyone reappeared in a wood, amongst several other bewildered looking travellers.

"Eight-o clock from Dock Street?" a man in a strange ministry uniform asked the party seconds after they appeared looking dishevelled and a little green. Summers stepped forward and nodded shakily.

"Yes, that's us," he told them and they were led away from the wood towards the camping grounds. Luckily for the ministry, a very rich landowner had married a witch ten years previously and then had an extremely unfortunate accident involving a self-cleaning cauldron, leaving her his entire estate. The late Monsieur Lemair's widow Adrienne was an awfully big fan of quidditch and had instantly offered her vast estate as a site for the world cup when she found out France had won the bid.

Her estate was ideally suited for building the vast stadium, as it contained acres of rolling fields, bordered by a very thick wood. Muggles had no place at the estate and it was already designed to ward them off with several enchantments. There weren't any settlements for miles around. Madam Lemair had easily convinced the ministry and the Internation Quidditch Federation and now her dreams were coming to fruition and she could ogle the young quidditch legends to her heart's content.

Three camping grounds had been designated and the Malfoys would be joining a veritable clan of Potters and Weasleys in camping ground A, where they had already spent a fun-filled night. Draco navigated their way through the myriad of strange tents and contraptions the wizarding folk of the world had descended upon the French countryside with, and soon could see a small gathering of red-haired people up ahead, intermittently divided by a jet-black head of hair.

"Rachel! Katie!" Leshia suddenly exploded when her eyes fell on her friends, and she started careening over to the two girls. They spotted Leshia before they heard her and instantly started running out to greet her. The three girls met in the middle in a messy heap of giggles and chatter. By the time their parents had ambled over and started greeting one and other they had separated and only now did they get a good look at one another.

"Katie?" Leshia asked uncertainly, when she realised that her friend was looking different.

"I know," Katie groaned and her shoulders drooped as she looked down at her new lanky appearance, still trying to adjust to the fact that the ground was further away now after her intense growth-spurt. Rachel started laughing at her side.

"She's like a beanpole isn't she?" Rachel crooned triumphantly. Leshia looked up at the towering height of her friend and felt a little putout.

"How did this happen?" Leshia asked uncertainly, causing both Katie and Rachel to burst out laughing.

"It's called _growth_ you moron, someday it might happen to you too," Rachel teased fondly. Leshia, forgetting her momentary disappointment, burst into a smile and play punched her redheaded friend on the arm.

"Now now children, play nice," Ron's voice came as finally the parents had said all their hellos. The girls rolled their eyes in typical preteen fashion, before Rachel and Katie took Leshia by the arms and rushed her off towards the tent.

"Come and see what an _awful_ tent we have," Katie exclaimed dramatically and soon they reached a small green ugly looking thing with an English flag propped up on a shaky looking flag in what could possibly be construed as a front garden (where had those potted plants come from?).

"Oh those," Rachel sighed in an embarrassed way when she saw Leshia looking at them grimly. "Mum." This ought to have been answer enough, but Leshia knew she was going to get a blow by blow account of how exactly Lavender had exerted her ghastly feminine touches when she was absent from this particular sojourn – having decided that spending the weekend knee-deep in mud and burly wizards and witches was not her cup of tea. It transpired that Lavender's protégé Hermia, Rachel's little sister by one year, had demanded that they be placed outside under Lavender's orders. The other girls' attempts to remove them had been in vein and in the end had begrudgingly accepted them.

"Come on, we've got our own room," Katie said eagerly and the girls disappeared behind the tent-flap emerging in a gloomy dingy looking apartment. Leshia wrinkled her nose at the musty smell – and the many snoozing girls taking up almost every square inch of living space.

"This way," Rachel instructed and she led them through to the only bedroom the tent held. It contained a double bed that currently had two sleeping bags strewn across it, it wasn't terribly large, but with the exception of Katie, the girls were quite small and would easily fit. Leshia dumped her stuff on the bed and then beamed at her friends.

"So who's here exactly?" Leshia asked with a frown, she had definitely seen Amy and Sarah amongst the sleeping bodies, but the other Weasleys were all too similar to tell apart. Katie and Rachel exchanged a glance and a heavy sigh.

"Well Hermia's here obviously," Rachel grumbled. "And what's worse is she's coming to Hogwarts this year! I just can't believe that…"

"Staying on topic," Katie laughed, she and Leshia had been hearing about the tragedy that was Hermia coming to Hogwarts all summer.

"Oh right," Rachel managed. "Emilia's here too," she explained naming one of her other little sisters, barely a year younger than Hermia.

"Sarah's little sister Annie's here," Katie added.

"Annie," Leshia repeated thinking hard. "She's the same age as Hermia right?" Both Rachel and Katie nodded.

"So is Tom's little sister Laura, she's here too," Rachel added. "Who else is here?" Both Katie and Rachel frowned, trying to think of the tenth girl in their tent.

"Oh Lara!" Katie suddenly exclaimed.

"Yeah Lara, how could I forget? She and Emilia are inseparable," Rachel grumbled. Leshia nodded slowly, trying to remember all the girls' names. She had grown up amongst the Weasleys, almost as one of them, but her best friends had so many cousins, it was difficult to remember everyone's names, particularly as in the last few years she hadn't been spending as much time with them and they had all grown and changed in this time.

"Is Michael here?" Leshia asked Katie, who rolled her eyes petulantly and nodded. Her brother had stepped up a notch irritating behaviour this summer in her opinion. His coming to Hogwarts in the new school year was equally as traumatic for her as Hermia's arrival was for Rachel.

"Hey," Rachel suddenly said gleefully, her eyes dancing mischievously. "Shall we wake the others up?" Katie and Leshia exchanged a sideways concerned glance.

"Yeah…" Leshia said slowly, thinking back to Rachel's alarm-clock-like tendencies. "We don't find that as amusing as you do."

"No, look what we got yesterday from a stall," Rachel exclaimed gleefully and she pulled out a loud horn.

"Hey yeah," Katie suddenly crowed happily. As the two cousins started scheming, wondering which of their relatives they should scare the most, Leshia sat back and watched them with a strange euphoric feeling inside. Even though she had enjoyed the summer immensely, there was nothing so fun as the sisterhood she shared with Katie and Rachel. Meeting up with them again was like coming home, and she couldn't wait for the school year to start so as they could get back to their old tricks again.

In the end, the girls decided that Hermia ought to get the full brunt of the horn abuse due to the terribleness of the plants she had forced on them all. They crept, giggling silently into their sleeves, through the sleeping redheads until they located Rachel's distinctly auburn little sister. Barely able to contain her mirth, Rachel reached out with the horn and then pressed it loudly. It was louder than they had anticipated, being magically enhanced, and the effect it had on Hermia wasn't as funny as they had imagined, as she jumped up screaming in agony.

"Uh oh," Rachel managed before half the parents came filing into the tent wondering what all the fuss was about and all the other girls, having jumped from their sleeping bags, now saw the cause of the racket and started loudly complaining about their rude awakening.

"Rachel!" Ron managed sounding shocked when he saw his second born child crying and holding her hands up to her ears. "What did you do to your sister?"

"I…uh…" The three best friends glanced to one and other with cringing expressions; this was not the best way to start their holiday together. By now Hermione and Draco had clambered into the packed chaotic apartment and neither one of them looked terribly impressed. Draco even had his arms crossed, and that could never be good Leshia had come to understand over her twelve years of trouble making.

"You three, outside," Ginny said forcefully to the girls and they were frogmarched out into the horrendous front garden of the tent and sat down side by side on one of the deck chairs, while inside Harry and Hermione – arguably the best at healing magic – tried to see if they could do anything about Hermia's evidently perforated eardrum. Their absence left Ginny, Ron and Draco to be the 'bad cop' parents, and they lined up in front of their daughters looking displeased – arguably…they looked as though they had varying measures of displeasure. Ginny was looking the most stern; Ron was looking slightly affronted with having to be the confrontational parent (this was usually Lavender's job); and Draco was looking slightly amused by the whole thing.

"Who's brilliant idea was this then?" Ginny asked sternly. The girls looked to one and other anxiously.

"All of ours," Leshia finally replied, ever the ringleader.

"Well then all of you can share in the punishment," Ron managed meekly. "Right?" he checked with his younger sister, but she was ignoring him.

"Why is it that whenever you three get together chaos shortly ensues?" Ginny asked sounding amazed by it all. "If you girls put that mastermind of yours to good use, instead of mischief, who knows what you could achieve." Despite their very best efforts not to laugh the girls all started smirking in an attempt to suppress their laughter at Ginny's reference to their joint 'mastermind', but they soon stopped sniggering when Ginny looked at them firmly.

"Why don't you go and collect the water," Ron suggested, once more glancing to Ginny for confirmation. She rolled her eyes at her brother, but nodded to the girls.

"Yes I think you'd better," she said and the girls didn't need telling twice. Within seconds they had jumped to their feet, collected the empty water canisters and ran off to the water pump whispering about 'boring grown-ups'. Once they'd disappeared between the crowds Ginny wheeled on the men at her side. "Thanks for the contribution boys," she said fondly. Draco grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"You were doing such a good job Ginny," he said cheerfully. "And we all know how much you like to call the shots."

"What and you don't?" Ron sniggered. Draco grinned devilishly.

"Me? I just go with the flow…" he began charmingly.

"Oh give over Draco," Ginny chuckled. "Katie's told us all about your reign of terror at Hogwarts. You can punish with the best of them. That daughter of yours has you wrapped around your little finger." Draco grinned at his friend in a 'whatever you say' way; a look that coincidentally, drove Hermione up the wall whenever he deigned to cast it at her.

"That daughter of mine does as she's told, it's only when she's around those hoodlum children of yours that she gets big ideas," he flat out lied. Leshia was arguably the criminal mastermind of the trio, and she was no less so when she was at home. That girl had never liked authority; she was after all a Malfoy. Ron and Ginny started laughing so hard at Draco's ludicrous statement, that they had to excuse themselves: Ginny to check on the boys, and Ron to see whether Hermia had recovered yet. Hermia though, was the daughter Ron could connect with the least. The girl was the exact replica of her mother in looks and persona, and Ron had a hard enough time reading Lavender. Arguably, he would have to say Rachel and her little sister Ria, who was a middle girl aged eight, were his favourites, as he could relate to them better than their sisters.

XXX

"God, no one around here knows how to take a joke," Rachel grumbled as they waited in line for the water pump. Leshia and Katie exchanged a suppressed grin.

"We did like deafen your sister Rach, maybe we did deserved what we got," Leshia tried logically, with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Oh she had it coming," Rachel grumbled, but then her face lit up. "Hey, maybe she'll have to go home now! Wouldn't that be great?" Katie and Leshia laughed with their friend, but secretly hoped their trick hadn't cost the poor girl a chance to see this legendary match. Granted, just why the clothes mad, make-up loving, girlie girl had decided to come to a quidditch match was beyond them, but she didn't deserve to get sent home deaf. "After that Mistress Millie incident, she deserves to be stuffed down the gullet of the giant squid I tell you!" Katie burst out laughing, but Leshia remained confused.

"What's the Mistress Millie incident?" she asked sounding a little false and unsure; she hated it that she hadn't spent as much time with her friends as they had blatantly spent with one and other.

"Oh you didn't hear? It's hilarious!" Katie assured the smallest of the friends.

"Katie," Rachel hissed.

"What? It's just Leesh, she's going to find out sooner or later," Katie assured their redheaded friend, who had this moment was looking rather red skinned too. Leshia's brow became more furrowed as Katie's reference to her being 'just Leesh' stung a little.

"Okay fine," Rachel grumbled and Katie turned on Leshia with a big smile, ready to tell the story.

"Oh look, we're next," Leshia said falsely, not sure she even wanted to know anymore. Katie and Rachel both looked a little surprised and hurt by their ringleader's disinterest in their story and gave each other questioning glances as Leshia started to fill her canisters with water from the tap.

"Don't you want to know?" Rachel asked as she used the tap next to Leshia's. Leshia turned and smiled at her, before she shrugged and turned back to her canisters.

"Well do you know the _Mistress Millie Don't I Dress Silly?_ section of the Prophet?" Rachel tried, deciding she would try anyway. Leshia nodded, still watching the water level in her canister rather than her friend. "Well Hermia wrote in with a picture of me from two Halloweens ago, you know, when I was wearing an umbrella as a hat and that ghastly Dementor costume? Well, they put me in the column. It was so embarrassing! I was the laughing stock of the entire nation for about three weeks!" Despite herself Leshia sniggered.

"People were even asking her for autographs," Katie tried tentatively. Leshia laughed even more, and finally she looked up at her friends gleefully.

"When was this?" she laughed.

"It was when you were in France with your family," Katie explained. "We did send you a copy of the Prophet."

"Yeah, but Tally probably burnt it," Leshia sighed as she stepped back from the tap with her two full canisters.

"Why?" the other two laughed.

"Because of the houself strike that went on in the summer," Leshia said glumly. "She couldn't bear to see such blasphemy, so she kept burning the papers before my dad got to read them. I swear, I've never seen him so close to kicking that elf out. One morning she just snatched it from his hand and threw it into the fire. I swear, he was hovering behind her with a whole pile of clothes, but she must have sensed it, because she ran off." The other two were in reams of laughter now.

"I'm surprised your mum hasn't let her go, she's still really against houselves right?" Katie asked seriously. Leshia grinned her lopsided grin.

"And you think Tally would listen to my mum?" she sniggered as the girls started back towards the tents. "She won't listen to my mum at all. Even though she offered the ungrateful little toad a salary and like five weeks paid holiday…" Leshia sighed and shook her head. "She's started a secret bank account at Gringots for the silly little fool, and one day when Tally's old and retired she's going to give her the key. Damn thing would probably give it all back."

The girls' return to the tents was not well met, as Molly and Arthur, who had been collecting breakfast at the time of the foghorn incident had come back to find the chaos the trio had left behind. Arthur had been secretly amused by it all once he found out Hermia would be fine, but Molly was livid, in true grandmother fashion.

"You three," she cried out indignantly when the girls arrived with the water canisters. She marched over with her finger held out; the girls stepped back slightly, fearing it had magic properties of its own, "Hello Leshia darling, it's very nice to see you," Molly suddenly exclaimed, but then she turned serious once more. "But what a return I tell you! There are to be no more tricks or pranks, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Grandma."

"Yes Mrs Weasley." Came the muffled replies from the girls as they shuffled their feet and tried to avoid the fiery woman's gaze.

"Now," Molly carried on less angrily. "Let me take a look at you," Molly said turning on Leshia and reaching out to lift her chin. Tears welled up in her eyes, she wasn't accustomed to seeing Leshia very frequently. With no grandparents of her own, Molly had taken Leshia under her wing and for the longest time Leshia did in fact call her grandma along with the rest of the brood, but after Hermione's disappearance and visits became infrequent, this habit had unfortunately been lost. "Oh look how you've grown," Molly crooned and she pulled Leshia into a hug.

"Hardly," Rachel sniggered, and she quickly looked away as Molly threw her a silencing look.

"You're so pretty my darling," Molly continued and she pulled back again. "Have the boys started falling head over heals for you yet?" Leshia glowed bright red and she looked to the ground while her best friends tried very hard to suppress their laughter.

"Oh plenty," Katie managed and Molly beamed at her.

"I always knew they would, you're just…"

"Molly," Hermione suddenly called out and she wrapped an arm around the greying red-haired woman. "It's so good to see you." As Molly enveloped Hermione in an embrace the young woman grinned at her daughter over Molly's shoulder and then jerked her head indicating they were free to escape. Leshia beamed at her mother, but didn't need telling twice, so she escaped with Katie and Rachel in pursuit.

"Where are you girls going?" Draco asked them suspiciously. They skidded to a halt and turned around slowly, weary of his mannerisms as a teacher, and wondering whether he would be so unpredictable when he was _off duty_ as it were. Draco was chewing on an apple with a carefree expression on his face, but underneath there was a small degree of suspicious interest.

"Just to explore," Leshia said innocently enough. For several moments Draco chewed on his mouthful of apple, watching them still with his stoical gaze, until eventually he nodded and swallowed.

"Well go on then," he said and only then did the girls visibly relax and dart away. Sitting outside the _dads'_ tent was Ron, who shook his head in amazement.

"I wish I had that kind of power," he said enviously. Draco turned to him and grinned.

"Never going to happen Weasley," he said cheerfully and he threw the remains of his apple into the fire.

"Maybe I should become a teacher," the redhead was continuing. "Then maybe they'd be afraid of me too." Draco grinned darkly and turned to watch the girls running off, wondering about the thin line between fear and respect. He hoped his daughter and her friends didn't fear him…

XXX

The girls spent hours wandering around the grounds, watching the stadium from afar, wondering when they would be able to start filing in for the three-o clock start of the match and also wondering where the players were staying.

"Probably at the great house," Katie said thoughtfully and the girls all looked to the blip on the horizon that they believed to be this so called 'great house' that they had heard so much about.

"Do you think we could make it there and back before the game?" Rachel asked with a grin on her face.

"I don't think so," Leshia said cheerfully.

"Doesn't your mum know Krum?" Katie asked turning on Leshia with a curious look. Leshia shrugged her shoulders.

"Not anymore I don't think," she said. "I think he made a pass at her when she was pregnant with me, but she was with my dad so she turned him down and he went ape or something…I don't really know. My dad says he decked him…but my…"

"Rodeo! Parys!" Katie suddenly yelled. Leshia frowned and turned around along with Rachel to see that indeed their two friends from Gryffindor were running towards them and boy, had they grown! They had already been quite tall, but now, they were taller than even Katie.

"We've been looking all over for you guys," Rodeo exclaimed.

"Rodes…" Leshia said with a frown. "What happened to your voice?" Rodeo grinned at her and rolled her eyes.

"I'm becoming a man kid," he said happily and he punched his chest in an ape-like fashion, as though proving his point.

"You sound funny," Leshia concluded, but then she dove at both boys, hugging them roughly all at the same time. "It's so good to see you guys, where are you staying?"

"Just over there," Parys replied. "My older brother didn't want to go on his own, so he invited us along…"

"And my dad tagged along too because they're really curious about this quidditch game I've been telling them about. Come on, we've told them all about you guys, they're dying to meet you!" The boys dragged the girls along until they reached a very posh looking tent – it would seem that Parys' family were quite wealthy due to their muggle father's fortune in the hotel industry, so much so that they had afforded the best of everything, including wizarding tents.

"Hey guys come out, we found them!" Rodeo called into the tent and soon two men appeared from the depths of the luxury tent. It was clear instantly which man belonged to which boy. Rodeo was the spitting image of his hockey-playing father, who despite having a slightly crooked nose from the amount of times his vocation had called for it to be broken, was dashingly handsome with long ash blonde hair held back in from his face by a pair of sunglasses. He was tall like his son with broad shoulders and a body honed by the sport that earned him a living. Parys' older brother, the only one of his siblings to go to Hogwarts ten years before him, was dark like his younger brother, but he had none of the boy's looks.

"Dad, this is Leshia, you met her last year in Diagon Alley," Rodeo said proudly presenting Leshia as though she were a trophy. The muggle man reached forward with his hand. "Leshia, this is my dad Luka."

"Nice to meet you again Leshia," he said in his strange pseudo-English accent. The girls knew he had grown up in Serbia for most of his life despite being half Swedish, and guessed his accent was a strange mix of the countries he had lived in. "Rodeo has told me all about you…" Rachel, feeling left out, cleared her throat loudly and Rodeo quickly remembered his manners.

"This is Rachel and Katie," he quickly managed offering them an apologetic smile.

"Guys this is my brother Oskar," Parys quickly added feeling left out of the loop. The girls greeted him too and soon they were sat on the warm grass drinking bottles of warm butterbeer under the midday sun, laughing about the antics they had been getting up to at Hogwarts.

"Oh man, you should have seen what we did to Rachel's little sister the second I got here," Leshia suddenly exclaimed when Rodeo was explaining to his father that whenever these girls got together, trouble soon followed.

"Oh, do we even want to hear this?" Parys asked wearily.

"Well," Leshia said with a shrug.

"We blew out her eardrum by accident," Rachel said with a wince. The guys were shocked, but after the girls quickly explained that Hermia was doing well, and that she had it coming due to her insistence of the terrible front garden flower parade, they were rolling around in mirth. Already they could see why the boys were so in awe of these girls: they were enchanting.

It was getting late, and whether by happenstance or purposeful snooping, it just so happened that Draco came across the group of idle chatters. It was the look on Rodeo's face that indicated something was amiss.

"What's wrong with you?" Rachel asked with a grin.

"Uh…it's Professor Malfoy," he exclaimed, pointing over their shoulders. The girls spun around and sure enough there stood Draco chatting with a man of unsavoury character beside his tent.

"Oh is that the guy you told…" Oskar began, but he promptly shut up when Parys delivered a blow to his ribs and indicated Leshia frantically with a nod of his head. Leshia frowned suspiciously, who was her father talking to? He seemed to be aware of her presence, because he was watching her coolly while still talking to the man. After a few moments he excused himself and wandered over.

"You should probably get back, we'll be heading off soon," he told the girls, and then glanced over the company his daughter was keeping. He nodded briefly to Rodeo and Parys before standing back with his hands deep in his pockets. The girls took a few moments to realise he wanted them to come back with him so they quickly jumped to their feet.

"Uh dad, this is Rodeo's dad, and Parys brother," Leshia said unsurely. Draco glanced at her and then reached out a hand for the men to shake. They climbed to their feet too and shook his hand firmly. Still Leshia watched her father's expression with a frown, something wasn't right and she couldn't put her finger on it. It took Leshia a few moments to realise that it wasn't Draco that had her feeling uneasy…it was something else. With a twitch of her head she turned round and looked at the unsavoury man Draco had been talking to. He was watching her surreptitiously and when he was spotted he retreated into his tent. Seeing her strange behaviour Draco looked down at her with an unreadable expression. They looked at one and other for a few moments, before Draco nodded upwards towards their campsite. Leshia got the message and she turned to smile at her friends, who were watching this exchange with mystified expressions on their faces. They had never understood the dynamic Leshia had with her father.

"See you guys around," she told them with a small smile. They nodded happily and the other two said goodbye, before they rushed to catch up with Draco, who had already started walking away. Once they reached him he took one hand from his pocket and draped it over Leshia's shoulder, turning to glance over his own at the group they had just left with a frown. Once they had disappeared from sight the two boys exhaled loudly.

"He's even scarier when we're not in school," Parys grumbled.

"I can see what you mean about that guy," Luka said softly and he sat down again to finish his beer. "He's too hard to read. I mean, what was all that about?"

"Like I said dad, Professor Malfoy's just…professor Malfoy," Rodeo said with a shake of his head, thinking the same thing of the girl he adored. She too could snap at any time, becoming impossible to read or understand.

XXX

"Dad who was that guy you were talking to?" Leshia asked curiously when they'd crossed over the border into their campsite. Draco sighed pensively before looking down at his daughter's curious face with a frown.

"Someone I would prefer you to avoid," he said, and then glanced to her friends. "That goes for all of you. He is not…what you would call a pleasant fellow." Leshia frowned and looked to the ground, fighting the urge to ask him how many of his old friends could be considered 'pleasant', but she bit her tongue. Draco sensed her feelings and looked up, inhaling slowly, as what he was about to say next would pain him. "That Rodeo boy, his father, he was all right…for a muggle." Leshia looked up quickly, a smile darting onto her face. Her father approved of a muggle? That was new.

"You liked him?" Leshia asked eagerly. "Really?" Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, like and like, I don't really mean…well…" he trailed off, but Leshia still grinned, that was a good enough answer for her. She didn't know why approval of Rodeo and his family was important for her, but for some reason this cheered her up no end and by the time they reached their tent to find everyone getting ready to go down to the stadium, she was in extremely high spirits. The large party set off as soon as Draco returned with the girls, and soon they joined a steady throng of people heading towards the stadium. On their way they came across a peddler trying to sell on some last minute paraphernalia.

"Dad can I have some money? Please?" Leshia begged the moment her eyes fell on one of these peddlers. Draco grinned and rolled his eyes before looking over to Hermione with raised eyebrows.

"And? Does she deserve it?" he asked. Hermione laughed and play pushed him.

"Of course she does," she said firmly and she reached into her purse taking out a handful of galleons. "Can you get me a rosette sweetheart?" she asked eagerly. Leshia grinned and after hugging her mother roughly around the waste she and her friends darted off.

"Wow," the girls gasped as they took in the sights of the souvenirs. Most of the exciting ones were affiliated with Bulgaria – Rachel and Leshia had to severely deter Katie from splashing her pocket money on a miniature lion that sang the Bulgarian national anthem and called out the players' named.

"But he's so cute," Katie complained as her friends pulled her hands away from the adorable souvenirs.

"Yeah, but you'll be declaring your support for Bulgaria Katie!" Rachel complained.

"Ah," Leshia suddenly awed out loud, her eyes taking in the gleaming omnioculars, which completed the quidditch-going experience.

"Yeah, we got some yesterday," Katie explained. "You have to get some Leesh, it'll be hard to watch without them!" Leshia grumbled at the price – eleven galleons – as this would only allow her enough money to get the white rosette that squealed the names of the players for her mother and something small, like a model of one of the players, for herself.

"Cheer up Leesh," Katie tried as they headed back to the others, with Leshia poking her little model of Lukas Krosovitch, a young Bulgarian chaser Leshia had been following secretly the entire tournament, in the ribs, trying to make it move.

"Oh it's no use, I think its broken," she grumbled and she dropped it in her jeans pocket. "I really wanted to get an England jersey so I could wear it to quidditch practice," she sighed as they rejoined the parents. Leshia looked glum as she handed the rosette to her mother.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly, but Leshia, not wanting to seem ungrateful, smiled at her brightly.

"Nothing," she said. "I got some omnioculars," she tried enthusiastically and then showed her mother the little model of the dashing young chaser. "Where's dad?" the girl then asked when she realised her father wasn't there pointing out the treachery of her idolising the Bulgarian chaser – as he usually did when he heard her gushing about the young man.

"He's just a big baby really, he went off with Ron and Harry to buy their own toys," Hermione explained fondly. "Look, there they are. Oh Goodness, how much did they buy?" Hermione's surprise was not unfounded as the men were carrying several bags bearing the official World Cup logo, stuffed to the brim with merchandise and souvenirs. Draco quickly fell into step beside his wife and cleared his throat as he flung a flat box in Leshia's direction. She frowned and tore off the lid revealing the England jersey and socks she had just been ogling at the stall.

"Dad!" she gasped and quickly shut the box. "Thank you!" she cheered gleefully and she lunged at his side, hugging him firmly. Never before had Leshia been so happy that her father seemed to have a penchant for reading her mind.

"Couldn't have you sulking could we?" Draco said fondly and he ruffled her hair. The journey down to the stadium was a slow, yet steady one. Though the children started to get restless, their parents tried to distract them with tales of the last world cup final they had attended together – tactfully leaving out the part with the death eaters. In no time they reached one of the many entrances and soon one of the Federation wizards was checking their veritable stack of tickets.

"Own private box eh?" the man said jovially. "Lucky you, just keep going all the way to the top and then follow the corridor around to the left, you'll find your box." The large party hurried up the stairs – the children increasingly speeding up so as they might get the best seats. By the time they'd reached their corridor, the children were full out running. Not surprisingly, the older children reached the box first, but Leshia, Katie and Rachel were not far behind. Their pace ensured they got one of the front row seats in the magnificently placed box, overlooking the entire arena.

"This is so unbelievably amazing," Rachel sighed contentedly. Leshia pulled out her omnioculars and started scouring the crowds on the other side of the stadium. The sound in the box was quite unbelievable as all eighteen children jabbered on about their excitement. Their long-suffering parents had dropped down in the elevated back row and were staring incredulously over their children and wondering how they could possibly be making such a racket. It came as a relief when the commentator finally made himself known stadium-wide. The children quietened down to listen, but were shocked to hear that they couldn't understand a word the man was saying.

"It's in French!" Rachel finally wailed and the exasperated children turned around and faced their parents with eighteen identical disappointed expressions. In turn the adults all looked to Hermione as one expectantly.

"_Transfero nostras lingua conclave_," Hermione muttered directing her wand to every corner of the room. For a moment the room glowed slightly at the edges, but then the light died down and slowly the commentary morphed into English.

"Thank you," came the appreciative chorus from most of the party and Hermione beamed, happy to be able to show off the spell she herself had designed for occasions such as this.

"Know-it-all," Draco uttered fondly under his breath, but before his wife could playfully object, he lunged forward and kissed her firmly.

"…the English mascots…" came the end of some announcement by the commentator. Everyone frowned to one and other, what had they missed? But in an explosion of colour on the field they suddenly looked to the grass far down below where several winged birds were performing a beautifully choreographed dance close to the ground. Their red tail feathers and the flames they drew through the air instantly revealed their identities as phoenixes. It was a beautiful display, one that was over too soon as the phoenixes took flight and landed along the rim of the stadium to watch the match curiously. The crowd burst into tumultuous applause.

"Please, ladies and gentlemen, beasts and unknowns," the commentator was continuing. "Allow me the great pleasure, of welcoming the Bulgarian team mascots."

"I wonder if they've brought…" Harry began at the back of the box, bending low to consult his friends. He needn't have finished his sentence because the seductive music that came wafting up to the box was answer enough for him and without thinking he plunged his fingers into his ears and shut his eyes. Beside him Ron followed suit as the Veela that had entranced them many a time before danced onto the grass. Hermione turned to watch Draco curiously to see how he was reacting to the beautifully entrancing women, but to her pleasant surprise he was merely sitting with his arms crossed, a vaguely amused look on his face.

"Why don't they affect you?" she asked fondly. He turned to look at her with a neutral expression.

"You really don't know?" he asked with a smile and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "No spell they could cast, could stop me from loving you," he whispered in her ear, least any of the others hear him and think he was going soft. Hermione blushed crimson, before leaning up to her husband and kissing him softly. Down in the front row the girls were watching the Veela with disgruntled looks on their faces.

"How boring," Leshia grumbled. "They have so many cool animals in Bulgaria, couldn't they have brought some of them instead?"

"Yeah I don't think fire-breathing monsters, and blood curdling faeries are going to sway the crowd as much as these ladies will," Tom said in her ear. He'd been trying his very best not to watch the women down on the grass – Luke at his side was not so lucky and was teetering very close to the edge of his seat.

"It just feels like cheating," Leshia grumbled and she pulled out her omnioculars, looking down at the dancing women on the grass. They didn't seem attractive in the slightest to her, in fact, they were slightly scary. "I don't like them," she said firmly and as if on request, the Veela ended their song and danced to the side of the pitch where a stand had been erected for them.

The commentator proceeded to introduce the English National Quidditch side; Jones, Jackson, White, Mann, Cliff, Moore and their star player, seeker Joanne Tayler. Leshia and her friends screamed themselves hoarse for their side as the English team carried out a lap of victory around the pitch. Following their entrance the commentator then unveiled the Bulgarian team.

"Look it's Lukas! Look!" Leshia eagerly squealed to her friends as the young handsome chaser zoomed onto the pitch. She though, was the only one in the box to eagerly greet the team, and she followed Lukas around with her omnioculars until without her noticing, the game suddenly burst into action.

"Leesh stop ogling that Bulgarian guy and pay attention, it's started!" Rachel yelled in her friend's ear. Leshia pulled her omnioculars away and peered over the railing to see her red haired friend was right, though she didn't agree with her verdict of her ogling Lukas.

The match was certainly a highly exciting one as the two teams were equally matched. The scoreboard kept going up and up until two hours in the score lay stagnant at 930-920. The crowds were still eagerly applauding their corresponding teams, though with less vigour than before as people were sloping off to find refreshments.

"Hey Leesh," Katie whispered in Leshia's ear. Leshia looked to her tiredly. "Are you getting a little bored?" Leshia grinned lopsidedly and shrugged.

"I guess, I'm just hungry," she said, pawing over her omnioculars, looking once more to Lukas admiringly. It was at this moment that she saw the man…he was watching her with a pair of omnioculars identical to her own. Leshia frowned heavily and zoomed in on this man as far as she could manage. "It's him," she gasped.

"Are you still going on about that Lukas guy?" Rachel asked impatiently.

"No, that man! The one dad said not to go near…he's watching me…" Katie and Rachel exchanged a frowning glance before they crouched down near Leshia and fought to look through her omnioculars. Leshia pulled back and let them see.

"I don't see anyone…"

"There he is!" Katie said triumphantly. "But he's not looking this way Leesh, he's watching the game." Leshia frowned and quickly retook her omnioculars, looking once more for the man. Katie was right, he was no longer looking over.

"I could have sworn he was," she whispered to herself and turned round in her seat to see if Draco had sensed anything strange also, but she was slightly disgusted to see her parents slouched down in their chairs, barely watching the game at all. Instead their hands were entwined and they were engaged in a very intimate fond looking conversation.

"Yuck," she grumbled and turned back in her seat, before using her omnioculars to find Lukas again. She was content to watch him until suddenly something flashed past her vision and Lukas was turning curiously to see what was going on.

"Look it's Krum! He's seen the snitch!" Sarah bellowed and everyone jumped to attention, training their omnioculars on the seeker, who was diving down his arm outstretched.

"Pay attention Leesh, you could learn a thing or two," Luke called out to Leshia, who scoffed and shook her head.

"Shut up," she laughed, getting excited now that there was some action going on. "Come on Tayler," she whispered to herself, taking a moment to scour the pitch for the English seeker, but young Tayler was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden the white clad woman appeared in front of Krum and they raced neck-a-neck towards the ground, fighting one and other for the right to grab the snitch. Their hair-razing race had the crowd stunned into silence, until finally the inevitable happened, one of them had to catch the snitch.

"It's Krum!" the commentator screamed out and a huge sigh of disappointment went round the box and everyone's shoulders drooped. "No wait…its Tayler! England win! Joanne Tayler has caught the snitch!" As one the occupants of the VIP box jumped up into a jubilant cheer and the delighted phoenixes took to the pitch singing a beautiful song and filling the sky with bright fire.

"You're _still _watching Lukas aren't you?" Rachel accused when she noticed Leshia was still looking through her omnioculars. Leshia dropped her hand and shook her head guiltily.

"No, of course not," she said quickly and she leaned back in her seat as an elf rushed around the room doling out refreshments.

"I can't believe we actually won!" Katie crowed happily and she embraced her friends roughly. The girls celebrated along with the rest of their party while the main stand became illuminated for the victory ceremony. Leshia cheered rather louder than most when the French minister of magic introduced the Bulgarian losing team, and this caused Rachel and Katie to snigger at her in amusement. They all joined in with the national anthem when England received the quidditch world cup and then, it was all over.

"Well," Arthur announced from the back row. "That was quite something wasn't it? I wonder, would anyone care to meet the team?" Though he sounded perfectly calm, his expression was boyishly ecstatic and it only grew more so when his family and friends leapt to their feet in complete agreement that that was possibly the most amazing suggestion they'd heard in years. "Very well, follow me. We can leave our belongings here, don't worry," he assured everyone. They were too excited to worry for their thins and quickly followed the secretive Mr Weasley out of the box and across to a large function hall that had been designed for a post-game event.

"Arthur," the Federation witch on the door greeted him fondly. "So good to see you, is this everyone?" she asked looking over the excited group and mentally counting their heads.

"Yes certainly," Arthur said cheerfully and they were soon granted access into the room where several other lucky people were milling around. The girls rushed off to one of the many refreshment stands where a few other children were gathered. They ate greedily, realising that their stomachs were grumbling.

"I wonder what Rodeo thought of his first quidditch world cup," Leshia thought aloud. She remembered her first professional quidditch match. Draco had taken her when she was only five years old, to see their home side play in the league final. They had lost, but Leshia remembered the experience as one of her favourite memories.

"Oh…my…God…" Rachel suddenly gasped and the other spun around in time to see the two teams filing in, harangued by lots of journalists by the looks of things. They seemed tired and Leshia felt sorry for them.

"They don't seem happy," she told her friends.

"They're probably tired," Katie exclaimed.

"Oh no…oh no," Rachel was gasping, clutching at the table for support. The reason for her shock was that the Bulgarian team was heading towards their refreshment table – it was the least crowded and it was surrounded by children, who would be the least likely of hassling them further. Leshia and her friends shrunk away slightly, moving towards the wall where they could watch the team, yet not get in their way. They were speaking to one and other in Bulgarian, seemingly disappointed with the way the game had turned in the last few minutes. The girls would have gone largely unnoticed had the most esteemed member of the side not looked over and spotted Leshia. Krum frowned in surprise as he took in all the familiar features of Hermione's daughter.

"Ermione?" he uttered softly, but not soft enough for Leshia too miss it. She caught his gaze and then quickly looked away. Krum's thoughts drifted back to the first and only woman he had ever really cared for and remembered the situation she was in when they last parted. She had been pregnant…could this girl?

"Uh Leesh, Viktor Krum is coming this way," Rachel said softly and Leshia tried more furiously to look in any other direction. Within no time the esteemed Bulgarian legend was stood before them and Leshia realised uneasily that flat out ignoring him would probably be a little rude, so she looked up worriedly.

"Ermione?" Krum repeated. Leshia opened her mouth to complain, but then shut it promptly. "Your mother?" Not knowing what else to do Leshia nodded quickly. Krum inhaled sharply, before he looked up and scoured the room for the only woman he had ever truly cared about. After a few moments he spotted her and his eyes narrowed in anger. She was hanging on the arm of _that_ man, the man that had stolen from him her affections. The man that was undoubtedly the father of the child he had believed to be...

Had Leshia believed this situation couldn't get any less comfortable she was greatly mistaken as moments after Krum had located her parents and was looking very much as though he wanted to disembowel them, none other than Lukas Krosovitch started walking over. The girl blushed bright red and tried extremely hard to force herself through the solid wall she had already backed into.

"Leesh," Katie began, but by now Lukas had reached his captain and was uttering something to him in Bulgarian. The two men would have turned to go had Krum not turned around and bowed his head to Leshia.

"Please, say hello to your mother?" Drawing attention to the girl Lukas turned to see who his friend was talking to, and then he noticed the doll that was half-poking out of Leshia's jeans. He was so surprised that he started laughing, drawing everyone's attention. As he was still looking at the doll Leshia instantly realised what was going on and feeling the colour draining from her face she reached down and pushed the doll down, but Lukas was watching her with fond expression.

"Please," he said in a very good English accent holding out his hand. "Allow me to see?" Leshia quickly obliged and showed him the doll. He took it from her hand and turned it over in his large hands.

"I think it's broken," Leshia explained. Lukas looked up to her curiously. "I mean…it doesn't move or anything like the other ones."

"What is your name?" the young Bulgarian man asked kindly as he handed the doll back to the small girl.

"Leshia," she answered and was horrified when Lukas held out his hand for her to shake, which she did weakly.

"Do you play quidditch?" Lukas then asked and Leshia nodded numbly. Seeing their friend's powers over the English language temporarily magicked away, Rachel and Katie took it upon themselves to intervene.

"She's a seeker," Katie said proudly.

"Yeah, she made the house team last year, and we were only in _first _year," Rachel added equally as proudly. The two men smiled, even Krum couldn't help himself.

"She didn't lose once, she got it every time," Katie was carrying on, ignoring the incredulous look Leshia was giving her.

"Well done," Lukas said sounding sincere. "It is good to start young. You go to Hogwarts yes?" The girls nodded. "It is a fine school. Did you enjoy the game?" he asked them next and once more the girls nodded quickly. "I say you enjoyed it more than us no?" Leshia managed a meek smile while her friends giggled. She couldn't quite believe what on earth was going on…she was speaking to her idol. He was expressing an interest in her…what was the world coming to?

"You know she's not normally this shy," Rachel was suddenly saying and Leshia turned to stare at her.

"She's just your biggest fan!" Katie added with an angelic smile. Oh God…the world was evidently coming to _an end_! Lukas laughed genially and even Krum managed a small chuckle and they both looked at Leshia, who was breathing rather quickly, looking too mortified to even move. It would seem though that salvation wasn't far behind as all of a sudden a tall figure stood beside Leshia. She looked up and couldn't remember a time when she'd been so happy to see her father, but Draco wasn't watching her, his eyes were locked on Krum darkly, who in turn was glaring menacingly at Draco.

"Dad?" Leshia asked worriedly, snapping out of her daze. Krum's eyes briefly darted to her as she confirmed his suspicion and his anger deepened. At his side Lukas turned on him with a concerned look and asked something in Bulgarian. Krum replied sounding angry and whatever he had said caused Lukas to look in surprise at Draco and then down at Leshia, who in turn realised she was being watched and looked up with an incredibly doleful expression.

"I'm surprised you've got the nerve to show your face around here Krum," Draco said softly, anger lacing his tone, the memory of their last encounter still making his blood boil.

"It is you who should be ashamed," Krum hissed angrily. Draco laughed coldly.

"You're even more delusional then you were back then Krum, to think, you once thought you stood a chance with her…"

"We were in love!" Krum growled angrily. Draco shook his head.

"She loved me, you knew that from the very beginning," he countered angrily. "All you could offer her was the security that I could not…"

"You were dangerous!"

"I was trying to protect them," Draco countered angrily and he clenched his fist. Leshia saw and she quickly reached out and wrapped her hands around her father's, trying to ease his anger.

"You stole her from me, she would have been safe with _me_!" Krum cried out forcefully.

"She was carrying my child when you met, what were you thinking? That I'd just disappear from the picture?" Draco demanded and he pulled his hand away from Leshia's worried grasp and instead wrapped his arm firmly around her shoulders pulling her tightly to his side. Krum looked down at the girl and felt renewed heartache when he saw Hermione's likeness in those large soulful eyes.

"Viktor," Lukas suddenly interjected and he placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, saying something in Bulgarian that seemed calming to Leshia and the other two girls, who were worriedly watching the unfolding events. Krum looked as though he very much wanted to stay, but whatever Lukas had told him caused him to drop his shoulders and turn to go.

"Don't ever come near my child again Krum, do you understand?" Draco warned in a deep threatening tone. Krum turned briefly and looked down at Leshia, who was still watching him with those heartbreaking eyes. For a moment he remembered the euphoria when for the briefest time, merely a few weeks, he had believed this girl to be his own child…then he turned and left, followed by a subdued Lukas. Amazed by everything she had heard, Leshia looked up at her father worriedly.

"Dad?" she asked worriedly and finally Draco looked down and met her gaze and shook his head, indicating that now was not the time for questions.

"It's okay sweetheart," was all he said and he squeezed her tightly to his side before walking off to find Hermione and make sure Krum didn't go for her next.

"Okay what the heck just happened?" Leshia finally spluttered, and she looked to the other two for support. They shrugged their shoulders dramatically, unable to process and make sense of the extremely strange turn of events that had just taken place. "I mean the way they were talking…Viktor Krum and my mum were…together…" Leshia trailed off and looked across the room to where her parents were engaging in a hushed conversation.

For the entire remainder of the post-game drinks the girls remained out of the way in their corner, trying to think of ways in which to make sense of what Draco and Krum had divulged. It was evident that when Hermione had been pregnant with Leshia Draco had not been in the picture, and instead Krum had wooed her mother. Had she known she was pregnant? More to the point, had Draco known? And if he did, why had he abandoned them?

As darkness fell the girls noticed that Tom, Luke, Sarah and Amy were heading for the door, and in an instant they ran after them.

"Where are you going?" Katie asked.

"The Cauldron Chicks are playing down in our campsite, we're going to check it out," Amy replied. "Do you guys want to come?" The girls nodded eagerly – Katie with more vigour than her friends, as she was a fan of the sickeningly girl-bandish group.

"We'll just go tell our parents," Leshia told the others and she and her friends rushed back to where their parents were enjoying an exuberant conversation with an ageing wizard dressed in very old quidditch robes. His protruding belly was straining the over-stretched material, but he seemed cheerful enough.

"Ludo," Rachel whispered to Leshia.

"Yeah, he's a friend of grandpa," Katie added.

"Ah there you are, we've been wondering where you lot had got to," Ginny suddenly exclaimed when the girls pushed into the animated circle.

"We're going back to the campsite with the others," Rachel informed the group.

"Yeah the Cauldron Chicks are playing," Katie added eagerly. From across the circle Draco groaned loudly.

"Oh they're not are they?" He had returned to his old self as soon as the Bulgarian team had sloped off, a mere twenty minutes after they had arrived.

"Can we go?" Leshia asked and Hermione smiled kindly at her and nodded.

"Of course you can," she said and after bidding their parents goodbye the girls rushed to catch up with the others. They chatted animatedly about the game while they made their way on the long walk from the stadium to their campsite, but finally, they arrived to find a throng of party goers bedecked in England paraphernalia milling about.

"This is excellent," Luke crowed when he spotted a conga line of drunken supporters dressed merely in toga-style anthem-singing English flags. Luke and Tom were soon afterwards pulled away by two girls from their year, and following that Sarah and Amy spotted two of their friends in the distance and soon scarpered to join them, leaving Leshia and her friends stood amidst the chaos gleefully wondering which way they should go.

"Look, there's a butterbeer stand, let's go get one," Leshia announced and they rushed off to buy themselves a drink. Feeling a lot more refreshed, and on Katie's pleading, they headed towards the brightly lit stage where the ghastly witches were performing a song that already had the raven haired girl bopping along with.

"How can you like this rubbish?" Leshia laughed as they pushed through the throngs of drunken partygoers to reach the front of the stage. Katie glanced to her friend in mock outrage and shook her head.

"Poor poor Leshia," she sighed. "How do you manage without taste?" Both Rachel and Leshia burst out laughing, this was a side to Katie they had never seen before.

"Where did that come from?" Leshia laughed and she tried very hard to reach up and put her arm around her friend's shoulders, but she had grown too tall. "Can't you get enough oxygen up there in the clouds?" The girls had now reached the front of the audience and looked up at the partly emaciated witches in their scantily clad outfits, doing some strange dance routine that the majority of the crowd knew and were dancing along too.

"This is…" Rachel began sounding amused, but Katie silenced her by waving her hand in front of the redhead's face.

"Shhh, this is my favourite song!" she cried out and danced along wildly. Leshia and Rachel exchanged a somewhat incredulous look, while Katie sang along to the lyrics.

"This is the chorus, join in!" she crowed gleefully. "_I turned my boyfriend into a toad, he looked at her. She woke up one day, her hair was gone, her nose was long…_"

"Uh, Rach, you wanna get out of here?" Leshia yelled in her friend's ear. Rachel was nodding slowly, still looking at Katie with a slightly scared look, but leave they did not, as it seemed impossible to drag Katie away and they didn't want to leave her there on her own. For two hours they listened to the terrible music and watched out for flailing elbows and limbs, while the increasingly intoxicated crowd got ever more rowdy. Finally, and not a moment too soon as far as Leshia was concerned, the lead singer of the band, a certain Miss Pansy Parkinson, stepped up to the edge of the stage.

"Thank you, you've been a super crowd!" she cried out happily and blew kisses to everyone in the audience.

"Yuck!" Leshia and Rachel exclaimed as they finally dragged Katie away towards their tents.

"They need to be lined up and cursed," Rachel muttered, and then winced because Katie had delivered an elbow to her ribs. "Ow," she grumbled and rubbed her side and she turned to retaliate, but Katie was staring off to the side with wide eyes. Her friends quickly followed her gaze and saw what had her so excited: Draco was talking to none other than Pansy Parkinson – and looking very much like he wanted to get away.

"Oh no," Leshia groaned as Katie started running towards them. Desperately wanting to avoid the dreadful woman, they knew they had no choice, so Rachel and Leshia begrudgingly followed. Draco looked beside himself at the arrival of the girls and quickly dived behind Leshia, placing his hands on his shoulder.

"Pansy, you've met my _daughter _Leshia," he said pointedly, putting a rather large amount of emphasis on the word 'daughter'. Pansy looked down her pointy nose at Leshia as though something nasty had been placed under her nose.

"She's small isn't she?" she finally managed in a haughty tone. Leshia opened her mouth to object, but the ghastly woman wasn't finished. "I guess that's Hermione's genes then, she looks nothing like you." At this point she lifted her magically enhanced eyelashes and fluttered them at Draco dreamily. He stepped backwards slightly and clung tighter to Leshia's shoulders. "You've only got better with age Draco," she continued in a sickly seductive tone. She started to approach, batting those alarmingly pointy looking eyelashes once more. Entirely unimpressed with the situation Leshia cleared her throat loudly.

"Where's _mum_ dad?" she asked loudly.

"Back at the tent," Draco told her quickly, sounding strangely constricted. Pansy narrowed her eyes down at Leshia.

"Why don't you go and find her Leshia?" she asked, practically spitting out the girl's name.

"That's a good idea," Leshia said simply and she turned around, taking her father's arm. "Come on dad," she said and she pulled him away, but before she did so, she looked to Katie and then back at Pansy, who was scowling at her. "This is Katie by the way, she's one of your biggest fans." The change in the appalling woman was instantaneous as she turned on the unsure looking dark haired girl. Rachel remained behind as Leshia and Draco escaped, heading towards the tents.

"Thank you so much," Draco uttered sounding extremely relieved.

"What is it with you guys and ex-flames today?" Leshia asked purposefully, trying to drag the whole Krum story out of Draco.

"I only went out with her for a few weeks, and that was when I was seventeen!" he complained. "I would hardly call that a flame!"

"No…well what about mum and…"

"Don't Leshia, I mean it," Draco interrupted sounding very strict. Leshia frowned and looked at the ground grumpily. "It's an old story that is barely worth mentioning, so we're not going to go into it." Leshia chewed on her lower lip crossly, knowing that her father was lying to her. It had evidently been worth mentioning, as the pair of them had nearly laid into each other in front of a group of children. By now they'd reached their lots and found everyone relaxing on the deck chairs around a cosy bonfire. Everyone was in high spirits as the music rose around them, Leshia dropped down on a chair beside her mother, feeling indescribably out of sorts and she remained so the whole evening, even after Katie and Rachel returned in high spirits. As the sun started to rise on the horizon the children were ushered into their tents to try to get some sleep, and within no time Leshia, Katie and Rachel were curled up in their sleeping bags staring at the yellow stained ceiling of the tent.

"You've been weird this evening Leshia," Rachel finally said simply, but had she been expecting an angry onslaught from her friend, she was surprised to find that Leshia merely nodded.

"Was it because we dropped you in it with that Lukas guy?" Katie asked worriedly.

"No," Leshia chuckled and then she rolled onto her side facing the other two. "But he was amazing in person wasn't he? He was so nice!" The other two sniggered and then rolled around laughing.

"Leshia fancies Lukas!" Rachel sang triumphantly, but shortly afterwards she was silenced by a pillow to the head.

"I do not fancy him," Leshia complained.

"Yeah, and I'm Cauldron Chicks' biggest fan," Rachel crowed gleefully.

"Hey!" Katie complained happily and she too started to beat her cousin with her pillow. After ten minutes of sporadic pillow bashing, the girls collapsed on the bed in a fit of giggles, happy that they were together again. Though they didn't get any sleep that night, their spirits remained in good shape, and the awkward events of the day were forgotten, if only for now.

XXX

The following day Leshia was collected early as their port-key was one of the earlier ones of the day. The girls didn't feel sad upon parting from one and other as later that day they would be meeting up once more in Diagon alley when they would be fetching their school supplies. Draco and Hermione were rather quiet, as they were suffering from aching heads and tired limbs. They contrasted so with their young daughter as she was overtired and incredibly hyperactive. Knowing she would undoubtedly crash out the moment they got home, her parents bore the brunt of her excitement. Right on cue, the moment they stepped in the front door Leshia swayed tiredly in the hall and without another word, retreated up to her room to get some sleep. Hermione and Draco exchanged a fond smile, and then followed her up the stairs to catch some sleep themselves.

" _Miss Leshia run!" the familiar cry of the houself rang out before a blinding flash and a man's voice filled the kitchen of the old townhouse. Backing into the staircase Leshia looked on the hall of her house with seven-year-old eyes. Her frantic breathing was filled the dream with panic._

" _Where are you?" the man's horrible cry came and soon a lumbering tall figure skidded into the hall. Leshia darted back stumbling on the steps. This man who had haunted her sleep all summer, stepped forward, his burning eyes narrowing at the sight of the girl. " There you are," the horrible man hissed and he raised his wand._

" _No!" Leshia's child-like cry came. " I didn't do anything! No!" Bracing herself for the blow that never came Leshia dared to look up and saw the man had gone, though the sound of struggling from the next room revealed he was fighting with yet another houself that Leshia could not remember. Taking no chance she darted up the stairs as fast as her seven-year-old legs could take her. Once she reached the landing she pushed every door open before darting into her father's gloomy room. As she dropped to her knees and dragged herself under his bed she heard the hurried heavy footsteps of that horrid man in her wake._

" _Where are you?" his mangled cry came. Leshia pushed herself further into the darkness, her tears spattering down onto the hardwood floor. " Where are you my precious? Why are you afraid of your own grandpa?" Leshia gasped, that is why she recognised his face. " Come here!" her grandfather hissed into the dark. He was approaching her position slowly, as though he knew where it was she was hiding. He would have found her had the sound of the door opening and closing below not caught his attention._

" _Hello?"_

'_Daddy!' Leshia thought desperately and she feared so terribly for what her grandfather would do to him. Too afraid of what he might do to her if she called out she watched as the feet stalked away. Once she heard him descending the steps and an angry muffled conversation ensuing she dragged herself out from under the bed and darted across the landing into the upstairs parlour where a dumbwaiter stood in the corner. She jumped into it and lowered it to the ground floor – a game she had played when she was little turning to necessity. On the ground floor she could hear the shocked argument her father was having with his father in turn and she hurried round the back corridors of the house into the kitchen._

" _Tally," he young voice whispered in surprise when she found the elf paralysed on the ground. Her young eyes darted about the kitchen until she found a jar full of stones – the ones she had collected on their recent holiday to the beach. She took it from the counter amazed at how high it seemed to her younger self, and then set off to the door leading off from the hall. First her eyes took in her father with longer hair, and having just walked in from work, dressed still in his long coat. He was staring in shock at his father, who had his wand aimed at his son, a furious expression on his face. Without stopping to think Leshia took aim and threw the jar at her grandfather. She missed her target and the jar clattered to the ground cracking the slate tile it landed on._

" _No!" Draco yelled out frantically as Lucius took aim at young Leshia. The spell Lucius cast never hit Leshia however, as Draco uttered a counter curse that caused Lucius' to miss and hit the wall causing a large crack to form. As Draco disarmed his father Leshia rushed to his side, clambering inside his coat and clasping onto his leg like a limpet, watching her grandfather from her now protected position._

" _Now you listen father!" Draco cried out angrily._

"_I am your father no longer you traitorous coward," Lucius' cry came._

"_I am _not_ a coward!" Draco bellowed back and the anger in his tone caused seven-year-old Leshia to start trembling, and she buried her face into her father's leg, trying to block everything out. "You are to leave this place sir and if you ever return I shall kill you myself!"_

"_Coward!" Lucius screamed out. "You don't have the courage to…"_

"Leshia darling?" The girl sat straight up in bed, with wide terrified eyes, and soon she spotted Hermione's concerned face. "It was just a dream sweetheart, everything's all right," he mother assured her and stroked the damp hair from her forehead. "Look, your letter has arrived!" The terrible dream's hold on the girl weakened instantly at the sight of the Hogwarts letter and Leshia took it from her mother with a big smile, before tearing it open and reading down the list of books she would need.

Within no time the small family were ambling down London's streets towards the Leaky Cauldron where they would be meeting up with Katie and Rachel's families before they descended on Diagon Alley. Draco had his face buried in the same case file he had deserted before their trip to the quidditch game, but Hermione was trying her best to entertain their daughter. Occasionally the pair of them would have to guide Draco away from a looming lamppost, or a trip-inducing pot hole, but on the whole the young man had mastered walking while working, back in the days when work had consumed him and there weren't enough hours in the day for the work that demanded so much of him.

Soon they reached the Leaky Cauldron and met up with their tired-looking friends, who were trying to control their unruly children. Lavender had finally deigned to make an appearance at a get together, and she wasn't looking impressed with the behaviour of her unruly daughters. Hermia alone stood by her side, casting her siblings the same superior glare her mother was wearing.

"Okay we're all here, let's go!" Harry told the children when he saw the Malfoys walk in the door. Old barman Tom looked thrilled to see the unruly children heading for the back door.

"So Leesh, what do you think about Professor Tinreed packing it in?" Katie asked cheerfully. Leshia frowned.

"She's leaving?"

"Didn't you read the prophet, apparently she's had a nervous breakdown," Rachel explained. Leshia raised her eyebrows happily.

"That's the best news I've had all day," she said cheerfully. "Who's taking her place?" Katie took out a newspaper from her satchel and showed Leshia a picture of a very attractive woman with curly hair that seemed to defy gravity and a smile that could have challenged Gilderoy Lockhart's for brightness.

"She's pretty," Leshia remarked simply. "What's her name?"

"Professor Ramble," both girls replied as they reached the wall behind the pub. Hermione stepped forward and touched all the right bricks and within no time Diagon Alley in all it's bustling glory materialised in front of them.

"Hey dad, can we go off on our own?" Leshia asked Draco eagerly.

"Well what about your books?" he asked.

"I can get them," Hermione cut in with a beaming smile. "You know that's where I'll end up anyway." Leshia beamed at her mother.

"Thanks mum!" she said happily and then after grinning at both her parents she rushed off with her friends. They headed straight for the Weasleys Wizarding Wheezles where they pooled what they had left of their pocket money and bought a term's worth of mischief making material. With their arms full of extendable ears, skiving snackboxes, fake wands and the like, they made their way up to the counter and emptied out their items. The spotty teenager behind the till looked to them in a bored fashion, before he started checking out the loot.

"That'll be four galleons and five sickles."

"What about our family discount?" Katie asked with a frown.

"Family discount?" the youth repeated drolly.

"Yeah, we're Weasleys, we get a family discount," Rachel said firmly. The youth sighed heavily before he lifted a binder from beneath the counter and flicked through the pages looking at the pictures that lay there. Sure enough Katie and Rachel's beaming faces were in the 'Discount' book.

"And her?" he asked nodding his head to Leshia.

"She's practically family, but anyway, we're paying!" Moments later they were skipping out of the shop with their precious loot. Following this they ambled along the lane occasionally diving into a shop when something fascinating caught their eye. They passed each one of their parents in turn; Harry and Ron in the Quidditch Supplies shop stocking up on broom handle wax and twig trimmers; Lavender heading into Madam Malkins with Hermia to get her robes; Ginny with Michael, buying him a pet for his new term; and Hermione laden down with packages emerging from the bookshop. Draco they came across last, and Leshia was disheartened to see him outside Cartara's Coffee and Cakes House, his brow furrowed, and his quill hovering above the case notes he still hadn't completed.

"Has he already set work?" Katie asked worriedly, wondering if she missed an owl bringing her pre-term homework. Leshia and Rachel sniggered at their friend's over-eagerness and shook their heads.

"He's been working for the ministry all summer," Leshia said sadly as they headed towards the sweet shop at the end of the lane.

"Well I guess that gave you time with your mum right?" Katie tried tentatively. Leshia shrugged.

"Yeah, but I missed him, I mean it's dad we're talking about, he…"

"Aw, does the precious little blood traitor miss her daddy?" a drawling voice interrupted her from behind. The girls spun around and came face to face with Damian Allseyer, a particularly vile Slytherin from their year. Two of his Cronies, Archie Dregon and Harry Stump, two boys possibly wider than they were tall, stood behind him. They too had enjoyed growth spurts this summer, but unfortunately for them, their increase in growth had made their already small heads look smaller.

"What do you want Allseyer?" Leshia asked tiredly.

"To teach you a lesson," Allseyer growled angrily. "Because of you, Cole isn't coming back this year, no one's heard from him since Easter! It's all your fault!" Leshia hid her concern (had she cost the boy his life?) behind a smug smile.

"Maybe he's in Azkaban where he belongs," she countered snidely. "One down and all that," she added with a roll of her hand.

"Why you…" Allseyer began and without warning he dove at Leshia, his fist connecting with her cheekbone. Leshia's surprise soon made way for anger and she fought back as best as she could, but as she could count the number of fistfights she'd been in on one hand, she was on the losing end of this particular scuffle. Dregon and Stump quickly jumped in front of Katie and Rachel to stop them from getting in the way, while all the other children milling down to the sweet shop gathered round chanting 'fight, fight'.

Just when Leshia was beginning to feel light headed from the abuse her body was enduring, suddenly the boy was lifted from her by a formidable looking beautiful woman.

"Professor Ramble?" she managed, but no one was heeding her as Allseyer wriggled from the woman's grasp and he and his cronies disappeared down Knockturn Alley. Katie and Rachel rushed forward and helped Leshia from the ground.

"Are you alright?" Ramble asked the girl worriedly. Leshia nodded and wiped a trickle of blood from her lip.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," she said softly, but then her face paled as a very familiar head was making it's way through the crowds towards her. "Oh no," she uttered as Draco finally parted the crowds and appeared in front of her.

"Leshia?" he exclaimed sounding surprised and he rushed forward looking over her injuries with a concerned frown. "Who did this to you?"

"I'm fine dad, just leave it," Leshia complained pleadingly, realising that many of her Hogwarts peered were gathered around them. Draco inhaled slowly, evidently displeased at being asked to let the matter drop, but he didn't want to jeopardise his daughter's reputation in front of half the school. Straightening up he turned around and locked eyes on Professor Ramble.

"Zahra?" he laughed aloud.

"Draco!" the woman returned happily and the two rushed forward and embraced one and other.

"I haven't seen you in years, what are you doing here?" Draco laughed as he pulled back from the woman and smiled jovially at her. Ramble beamed back at him.

"Saving your daughter for starters," she laughed. "So this is the infamous Leshia!" Both turned to look at the girl, who in turn was watching them with an unimpressed expression that wouldn't have looked out of place on Draco's face. "I heard about Hermione's return, I'm so happy for you Draco," Ramble continued and she looked back to the man she had once adored shamelessly.

"Yes," Draco said and he rubbed the back of his head. "So am I. So really, what are you doing in London, I thought you were going off to travel the world?"

"Oh, I travelled," Ramble laughed. "I travelled a lot, but I was starting to get tired, so when I was offered the post at Hogwarts I…"

"Hogwarts?" Draco interrupted. "You're a teacher now?" Ramble smiled.

"Yes, Muggle Studies."

"You're kidding, I teach Defence Against the Dark Arts," he said sounding delighted that his old friend was coming to the school.

"Really? When did you leave the ministry?" Ramble asked in surprise.

"Last year, I tagged along when Leshia went off to school," Draco explained.

"Couldn't bear to part from you could she?" Ramble chuckled.

"Actually," Leshia suddenly interrupted, having slowly made her way over to Draco's side. Neither one had noticed. "It was the other way round," she said coldly, narrowing her eyes up at the woman.

"Leshia," Draco laughed, though there was a warning tone to his voice.

"What? It's true," Leshia complained. "My mum works at the school too, she's the Runes Professor," she then continued to the blonde woman pointedly. For a moment a disappointed look crossed Ramble's face, which she soon masked behind another beaming smile.

"How lovely," Ramble exclaimed. "Where is Hermione?"

"Right here." The three of them turned around to see Hermione appear through the crowds, her arms crossed and a suspicious expression on her face, which soon morphed to surprised concern when she saw her daughter's face. "Darling what happened?"

"I'm fine," Leshia said quickly, not wanting her mother to change the topic of conversation. "Mum, this is Professor Ramble, she knows dad." Once more Draco gave his daughter a warning look and he placed his hand on his shoulder squeezing tightly, warning her to stop being so rude.

"Yes I know," Hermione told her brightly, and then looked up through narrowed eyes at the beautiful woman. "Isn't it funny Zahra, whenever Draco changes his job, you seem to consider the same career change," she laughed with a cold expression. Leshia suppressed a smirk, while Draco turned to stare at his wife in embarrassed wonder. What was wrong with the women in his life?

"Yes, it must seem rather stalkerish I must admit," Ramble laughed good-naturedly. "But I assure you it's all very innocent. I had no idea Draco was a teacher at the school." Hermione smiled sweetly and nodded.

"I'm sure," she said and then looked down to her daughter and her friends, still stood a few yards away. "Would you girls care for some ice cream?" she asked them brightly and they nodded gleefully.

"Yes please?" Katie and Rachel chorused and they rushed forward to join Leshia's side. Hermione smiled at them as she ushered them up the street towards the ice cream parlour and then looked up at her husband. "I'll see you in the Cauldron Draco." For all pretences she seemed light hearted and friendly, but Draco recognised the warning look in her eye and he frowned. Hermione though was walking away though, meeting up with the girls a little way up the lane. The fake smiled adorned her face for a few more moments, until the crowds parted herself and her bewildered husband.

"Oh," she suddenly exclaimed exasperatedly and the girls burst out laughing. "Your father is such a man! He can never tell when women are throwing themselves at him! It's so demeaning." Leshia smiled up at her mother.

"What did you mean when you said she follows him around?" she asked interestedly as they met up with Ginny at the ice cream parlour.

"Well exactly that," Hermione complained. "He first met her when he was an Auror…"

"Oh, is this Zahra?" Ginny interrupted as the girls sat down around her. Hermione nodded pointedly, ignoring the fond smile on her friend's face.

"She was head over heals in love with him I'm telling you," Hermione was carrying on. "And then I hear she followed him over to the research department after I disappeared, and now, isn't it so coincidental that the moment he becomes a teacher, she decides that it's the job for her. I mean come on, who is she kidding?" The others rolled about in laughter at Hermione's jealousy; this was a side they hadn't seen to her before. However, much later when they all returned to the Leaky Cauldron before heading home, Draco didn't find it so amusing. He was waiting for his wife and daughter by the front door, his arms crossed and his expression stony. Once Hermione and Leshia had bid goodbye to their friends they went to meet him and he turned away, not even offering to help them with all their packages.

"Is dad really angry with us?" Leshia asked worriedly, but Hermione smiled and shook her head, but as Draco didn't talk to them the entire journey home, and locked himself inside his study the moment they got home, Hermione started to wonder, but instead of making a big deal out of his bad mood, she went to start dinner while Leshia packed her trunk, ready for the train out to Hogwarts the next day. Once dinner was ready Leshia was called down, but she walked into the kitchen to find her parents kissing. It would seem Hermione was forgiven for her outburst in town, but this didn't ease Leshia's discomfort at seeing her parents being intimate, so with one hand firmly over her eyes, she made her way to the table for their last dinner at home before the new school year, and despite the rocky start to the day, it turned out to be a joyous occasion, as everyone was in high spirits.

XXX

The following morning though chaos quickly returned as the small family tried to get their things ready for the Hogwarts Express. Hermione kept having to return to the house because she had forgotten a vital book, Leshia couldn't find Philly (her now one-year-old troublesome cat) anywhere, and Draco kept getting harangued by ministry owls trying to deliver him some last minute paperwork that he couldn't possibly make time for. It was a miracle at all that they made the train before it departed in a cloud of steam, but make it they did and after carting their heavy trunks onto the train Leshia finally sat down in a cabin with her best friends.

"You Malfoys love leaving things to the last second don't you?" Katie remarked with a big smile. Leshia grinned and shrugged her shoulders.

"Always," she said cheerfully and she finally relaxed in her seat. "So, I was thinking last night, you know how we'll be getting a whole load of first years this year?"

"Yeah?"

"Well…why don't we throw them a welcoming party of sorts," Leshia suggested.

"What do you mean of sorts?" Rachel asked with a frown. Leshia grinned darkly as the train started to pull away from the station.

"You know…the initiation kind," she said lightly.

"Initiation?" the girls repeated eagerly.

"You mean, where we get to tell them what to do and they have to do it?" Rachel asked eagerly. Leshia grinned and nodded slowly.

"That's exactly what it means! Well what do you think? Gryffindor needs a tradition like that!"

"Oh my God, any chance to get at Hermia and I'm in," Rachel said gleefully.

"Are you sure that's a nice thing to do?" she asked worriedly.

"We could get the boys to do it to," Leshia sang innocently and Katie's eyes suddenly widened with excitement, get Michael too? Now that did sound appealing!

"Okay! Sounds good!" As the train pulled closer and closer to the castle, the girls ran their ideas by all the other Gryffindors that dropped by their compartment. All of them seemed to think it was a brilliant idea and soon they had pooled lots of fun ideas that would no doubt humiliate the first years, but offer plenty of entertainment for the rest of them. By the time night had fallen and the girls had changed into their robes, they were eagerly anticipating the evening to come.

XXX

The scheming continued as the children climbed in the horseless carriages that led them up to the school and didn't stop until they were seated at their table and the doors flung open revealing the new first years.

"They seem so small," Katie remarked.

"Not to some people," Rachel countered and she grinned at Leshia, who quickly pinched her leg under the table in retaliation. The new children did however look frightened and for a moment Leshia wondered whether it would be kind to subject them to the plans they had wrought, but as she laid eyes on Hermia, and remembered all the ghastly things the girl had done over the years, she nodded to herself with an evil smile. The girls watched as Daniels, Lucy and Michaels, Sally were sorted into Gryffindor, until Weasley. Annie was called forward.

"Here we go, get ready," Rachel said happily, getting ready to cheer on the first of the Weasleys to take to the stool.

"Ravenclaw!" the hat bellowed out. While cheers erupted from the table next to the Ravenclaw, all the Weasleys at the Gryffindor table stared at one and other in surprise.

"Uh…what just happened?" Katie finally managed as up front Weasley, Jack was called forward. Everyone fell silent as it tried to decide Jack's fate.

"Hufflepuff!" it concluded and the table on the other side of the Gryffindors burst out into applause as Jack ran off to join his new house.

"My brother in Hufflepuff?" Luke stammered in surprise, as Weasley, Hermia walked up to the stool.

"Slytherin!" the hat concluded and Rachel's jaw dropped.

"No way," she exclaimed slowly.

"The damn thing's broken," Leshia complained loudly. Weasley, Laura was next and everyone waited with baited breath, surely at least one of the Weasley brood must be sorted into Gryffindor?

"Gryffindor!" the sorting had bellowed and the Weasleys along with the rest of their house burst into cheers, relieved that at least one person in the family was in their house. The very last Weasley to take to the stool, young Michael, joined them moments later, but the cousins' confidence was shaken. They had been looking forward to dominating the house with their large extended family, but it would seem that the hat had other ideas.

"Well at least Hermia won't be able to annoy the hell out of you anymore," Leshia tried to console Rachel, who smiled falsely and nodded, as Wood, Eliot, was sorted into their house, followed moments later by her identical twin sister Wood, Jaime.

Once all the first years had been sorted into their respective houses, Dumbledore slowly climbed to his feet and smiled at the gathered students. After greeting them all and welcoming them back for a fun-filled year, he took the 'great pleasure' of introducing the new Muggle Studies professor. Every male in the room turned to ogle her and Leshia was surprised that she felt a pang of annoyance when she saw Rodeo blushing red as he looked at the voluptuous teacher. Hermione, up at the teacher's table, looked no less impressed and she looked away pointedly as Ramble smiled at the gathered students and waved to everyone. Once the old headmaster had sunk to his seat a delicious meal appeared on the table and everyone dug in.

Two hours later Leshia and her friends managed to drag themselves back to their dormitory, where their belongings had already been deposited, and they lay back on their beds, their stomachs bulging.

"Can you be bothered to initiate the first years anymore?" Rachel called to the others.

"Rach…" Leshia began disappointedly, but her sentence was broken by a loud foghorn being blown below in the common room.

"First years downstairs, on the double!"

XXXXXXX

END OF PART I


	2. Part Two

**Generations: Tales of the Last Stand**

**PART II**

"Come on first years, move it!" Hearing the call Leshia and the others scrambled to their feet and rushed out to the common room finding Sarah holding one of the horns they had bought at the world cup and Amy standing by a box of what could only really be described as supplies.

"What's going on?" Katie asked as they made their way through the worried first years to where Luke and Tom were laughing with their friends and taking apart some canary creams, siphoning the contents into a large jug.

"You guys should know, we hear it was your idea," Tom said cheerfully. Leshia beamed at them and dropped down on the sofa beside Luke.

"Is this for the chicken run?" she asked them gleefully, as she reached out and lifted up a bottle of nondescript clear liquid. "What's this?"

"It makes the feathers last longer," Tom replied gleefully and he reached out and took it from the girl's hands placing it gently back down on the table. "Watch yourself Leesh, you don't want to spill that on yourself," he warned her fondly.

"I can't believe we're actually doing this, it's so exciting!" Rachel crowed happily. Leshia gave her friend a lopsided grin and shook her head, still thinking of the overstuffed girl that had been lying in bed moments ago moaning about having to initiate the first years. "Yeah I know, I changed my mind!" the redhead quickly complained with a grin.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Leshia asked eagerly.

"Rally up some distracters," Luke told her before he carefully mixed some of the clear mixture into the canary cream mixture.

"What's a distracter when it's at home?" Katie asked with a frown.

"Someone to ward off the teachers when we take these birds for a run," came Tom's reply as their mixture started emitting a yellow steam. Leaving them to fine-tune their concoction Leshia and her friends headed over to their extremely curious second year friends.

"How do you guys fancy being distracters?" Rachel asked them eagerly.

"Is it something to do with all this?" Sam Thomas asked wearily and the girls nodded with big smiles.

"We'll do it," Parys offered indicating himself and Rodeo.

"We need two more," Leshia said lightly, looking in the direction of Nicola and Ashley, silently begging them to help out in yet another harebrained scheme. With a sigh, and wondering how they always got roped into these things, the two girls nodded tiredly.

"Great!" Rachel cheered and she lunged forward hugging the two girls roughly round the neck.

"Here's what you have to do…" And so Leshia gave them their instructions, feeling a little sorry for them that they'd miss out on the amusement of the Chicken Run. The first years were beginning to get a little worried about why the older students had gathered them together and why the rest of the common room was enveloped in a frenzy of mischievous activity.

"First years," Sarah bellowed over the children, frightening them into looking at her with wide eyes. "Welcome, to Gryffindor."

"You're probably wondering why we've dragged you down here, when you probably just want to go to bed," Amy continued.

"Well the answer is, initiation," they concluded as one, and a few of the first years grew more afraid as their fears were realised. Following this announcement they stepped forward with quills loaded with ink and then proceeded to write the children's names on their foreheads. Following this they were lined up and fed a portion of the potion the boys had been brewing, before bursting into feathers one by one.

"Don't be alarmed," Tom told a few of the girls who had started frantically tweeting to one and other. "The effects will only last half an hour! If any of you have ever had a Canary Cream, being covered in feathers won't be an alarmingly new experience for you." The large canaries that now stood before them seemed to appreciate this information.

"Right, now we're going on a chicken run!" Luke told the amused first years. "There's something important you have to know about the chicken run, and that's the foxes!" On cue, Adam North and Peter Sanda (Luke and Tom's partners in crime) jumped out from behind the drapes transfigured rather expertly into foxes. Their sudden appearance caused not only the first years to scream in alarm.

"They look wicked!" Rachel gasped from the other side of the common room.

"Yeah! This is awesome!" Katie added happily, though Leshia was feeling slightly put out, this had all been her idea…why wasn't she being included? Did no one respect her any more? The first years were now being informed that should they see or hear a fox they were to dive to the ground for protection, lest the foxes get them. In order to demonstrate what a fox attack might look like and how the 'chickens' ought to appropriately respond, Pete and Adam jumped around roaring quite convincingly at the impressionable first years, who dove to the ground throwing their arms over their heads. Everyone in the common room roared with laughter appreciatively.

"Very good!" Tom called to the first years and he looked over to Leshia, nodding to her, letting her know they needed her distracters right about now. She sighed heavily; still feeling relegated to the background, but led her friends over nonetheless. They headed out into the corridor and fanned out making sure the coast was indeed clear, before they signalled behind themselves, allowing the chicken run and their drovers to make their way out into the abandoned castle corridors. Leshia walked over to join them, grinning at the ludicrous sights of the 'chickens', but what she hadn't realised was that she too would be expected to keep the coast clear. As the daughter of two teachers, she would be perfect in heading them off relatively punishment free.

"Leesh what are you doing, you've got to keep the coast clear up front!" Sarah called to her as she doubled over laughing at the 'chickens'. The young girl forced a smile onto her face before she turned and stalked off with Katie and Rachel in pursuit.

"Leesh are you okay?"

"Never better." Her friends exchanged a shake of the head, before they turned back on their ringleader worriedly.

"What's wrong?" Katie tried sounding concerned.

"I told you, I'm fine."

"Are you angry that they haven't included you in the plans?" Rachel asked, as usual, more insightful into Leshia's emotions than her raven-haired cousin. Leshia's silence only served to confirm Rachel's suspicion. "They didn't mean to exclude you Leesh, they just get carried away with themselves you know?" Leshia nodded stonily.

"It's not that," Leshia finally explained sounding petulant. "They don't respect me…that's all I want, respect." So like her father, Leshia's most fervent desire was for the world to respect her. She didn't wish for everyone to love her, as she was realistic and realised this could never happen, but respect…respect was something she felt she had earned.

"They do respect you," Katie countered as in the distance they heard roaring and frightened tweeting. All three girls fought to suppress their smirks.

"It _is_ funny," Leshia finally admitted as they carried on walking, slowly relaxing back into her normal carefree self. For twenty minutes there were very few signs of trouble. At one point Katie had to head off Peeves by running down a wrong corridor to draw his attention away from the 'chickens' and on another instance Rachel had to feign a stomach ache and pretend she was on her way to the hospital wing to head off Professor McGonagall – though it meant sacrificing herself to the hospital wing. It would be Leshia though, who was charged with the most important task of all.

"Oh no," she suddenly exclaimed and reached out holding Katie back with her arm. She was looking into the distance where the telltale swagger of Draco, heading away from them was barely visible.

"What?" Katie whispered, as behind them another 'fox attack' caused the 'chickens' to burst into reams of amused tweets. Leshia didn't waste any time and she dragged Katie back behind a statue as in the distance her father stopped.

"It's my dad," Leshia whispered hoarsely. "You have to go back and tell them to be quiet, absolutely silent! And tell them to run back to the common room, I won't be able to head him off all night!" Katie nodded quickly; wide-eyed and afraid that Draco was barely a corridor away. "I'll go head him off."

"Good luck Leesh," Katie offered and Leshia nodded, before ducking out from behind the statue to find Draco was indeed heading towards them.

"Dad," Leshia called out to him – hopefully loud enough for the leaders of the chicken run to hear. Knowing full well that Katie would not be able to escape and tell the others with Draco looking their way, she rushed ahead to her father, running past him a little so as he might turn around.

"What are you doing up?" he asked, still looking the way she had come with a suspicious look on his face. He was evidently sensing some sort of mischief coming from down the corridor and Leshia's arrival had not served as a strong enough distraction. Frowning angrily Leshia tried desperately to think of something that might provoke him enough into forgetting about the impeding mischief makers that any second now were going to come round that corner.

"Dad I came looking for you because…"

"Hmmm?"

"Well I want to know more about Krum?" Wincing slightly in case of an explosion of anger on her father's part, Leshia was put out to see that he had barely responded.

"I told you already, we're not going to discuss it Leshia," he said sounding very much responsive, and yet, he was still looking the other way. Okay then, time to step it up a notch.

"Dad I just sent him a letter," she said and this time her ruse worked.

"You _what_?" Draco demanded and he spun around on the spot giving Katie the precious time she needed to jump out from behind the statue and tell the others of the trap that was waiting round the corner for them. She needed more time.

"Yes well, you weren't going to tell me and I'm a part of this family too so I…" she began confidently.

"Alecia Malfoy," Draco said slowly in a dangerously low tone. "What on earth possessed you to do something so stupid?" His tone rose steadily until he shouted the very last part. Behind him the 'chickens' rounded the corner, as Katie was yet to reach them. Leshia's eyes went wide in terror and the breath caught in her throat. Seeing Draco up the corridor and Katie sprinting towards them with a look of horror on her face Amy and Tom at the head of the group quickly ushered the first years back round the corner. Draco noticed his daughter's expression and in an instant spun around just barely catching the tail feathers of the slowest of the chickens disappearing behind the wall.

"You should have told me what I wanted to know," Leshia complained, hoping her cockiness would infuriate Draco enough into returning his attention to her. Her wish was granted.

"What?" Draco managed angrily and he turned back on his daughter looking at her in an almost bewildered way, her normal tactic was to avoid angering him, not marching right up to him and announcing she'd done exactly what he had asked her not to. Something was wrong…unless…her tactics were helping her escape from even more trouble that she was trying to stop him from finding out about. Giving his daughter a thoughtful frown, he turned back and started marching up the corridor the way she had come.

"Didn't you hear me? I said I've written to Viktor Krum asking him if he was in love with my mother and why he hates you…dad! Did you hear…" Leshia called after him.

"No you didn't," Draco called back and he sped up. Terrified of what he would find, and wondering how long the chickens would need to get back to the common room, Leshia sprinted after him and jumped into his path, pushing him back.

"Okay you're right, I didn't," she said and Draco actually stopped and crossed his arms, looking down at her curiously. "If you go round that corner you will find ten chickens being chased by two foxes and it's all my fault," she said truthfully with a sigh. Draco's head dropped forward in incredulous shock and then he shook it.

"Leshia! Stop lying!" he complained and he pushed her aside and started walking again. She had to run to keep up with his fast pace.

"It's the truth! I'm not lying! Why don't we go and get some truth potion and you can test me? Doesn't that sound like fun, you could invite Snape, he'd love it!"

"Professor Snape, Leshia," Draco corrected her as they carried on up the corridor. He was nearly at the corner, and as a last straw Leshia threw herself at him hugging him firmly and slowly pushing him backwards.

"Please dad _please,_ don't go round this corner," she begged.

"Why?" Draco asked and he sounded concerned. "What have you done that is so terrible?" Leshia craned her neck and looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest.

"We're initiating the first years," she said sadly. "We've transfigured them into chickens and afterwards we're going to send them on a scavenger hunt in the grounds." Draco raised his eyes to the ceiling, counting calmly to ten so as to avoid bursting into laughter, and blowing his top all in one.

"Where are they now?" he finally asked calmly.

"I've told them to go back to the common room," she said vulnerably, still looking up with large doleful eyes.

"You do realise I'm going to have to punish you," he said sounding miserable. Leshia nodded as best as she could with her neck craned to such an angle. Draco sighed slowly and then kissed his daughter's forehead firmly before releasing her arms and stepping backwards. "Come on, I'll take you back to your common room." On their walk back to the common room Leshia hoped against hope that the others had guided the first years back to Gryffindor, as she knew Draco would have no qualms punishing all of them, and she didn't want the first years' first night to be a miserable one. This initiation lark was meant to be fun for them also.

"So let me guess, this whole thing…it was your idea wasn't it?" Draco asked with a small smile as they walked the silent corridors. Leshia nodded sadly, and hung her head, missing the momentary proud grin that crossed Draco's face; his daughter was so like him in so many ways, it had to make him smile. He'd certainly raised one of a kind, though her mother's goodness was there also, if she had been a carbon copy of himself, then she would never have sacrificed herself to get the others out of trouble. "Just do me one favour baby?"

"What's that?"

"Don't mention that arrogant meathead's name in my presence again?" Draco uttered feeling his skin itch at the thought of the Bulgarian seeker. At his side Leshia giggled and nodded. The rest of their walk back to Gryffindor tower was relaxed and with every corner they turned, the more Leshia began to unwind. Finally when they reached the Fat Lady Leshia turned on her father and hugged him firmly.

"Thanks dad," she uttered into his shirt.

"For what? Giving you detention tomorrow evening at eight?" Leshia laughed once more and stepped backwards meeting his comfortingly familiar eyes with a smile.

"Just for being my dad," she said happily as she turned to the fat lady. "Golden…" The girl quickly remembered her father's presence and went bright red, before clearing her throat and adding as quietly as she could, "Balls" Beside her Draco grinned at the password and then he leaned down as the painting swung open and kissed the top of Leshia's head.

"Don't let me catch you up again," he said softly and he walked away down the corridor. Leshia watched him go before she dove into the hole behind the portrait and found most of the house was up and sniggering from trying to remain silent.

"Is he gone?" Sarah asked softly and Leshia nodded with a roll of her eyes. A cheer went up around the common room and Leshia noticed the defeathered first years were sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace beaming at her, they were evidently having a great time, and were facing their next task the boat race – in which the girls and boys would have to race one and other as a team in 'who could finish the ten bottles of butterbeer the quickest'. Leshia sidled over to her friends, who were sitting in their usual window box and she quickly joined them.

"Did you get in trouble?" Katie asked worriedly and Leshia grinned and nodded.

"Of course," she laughed. "But my dad was okay, he wasn't angry or anything, but we're going to have to call off the scavenger hunt."

"Oh they already have, there's more fun stuff to be getting on with here," Rachel laughed. They watched in amusement as the first years messily completed their challenge and rolled around laughing when one of the boys snorted butterbeer out of his nose. Had the girls been looking forward to relaxing and watching the first years be welcomed into the house, they would have been very much disappointed when all of a sudden Luke and Sarah singled them out and headed over, but as at these sort of occasions they were always drafted in to fixing others' mess, they didn't find it surprising at all.

"We've got a problem," Luke said grimly.

"We've lost two of the first years," Sarah added with a grimace. Leshia stared at them in amazement – this was worse than she had thought.

"Lost them? Which ones?"

"Those twins, they were there one minute and the next they were gone!" Luke complained. Leshia sighed dramatically before jumping down from the window box and looking to her friends tiredly.

"Where are you going?" Sarah asked worriedly.

"Where do you think? To find them," Rachel complained. "That is what you came over here to ask isn't it?" The other two nodded gratefully as the girls headed over to the portrait hole. As soon as they closed it behind themselves Katie reached into her jumper and pulled out a familiar object.

"Yes, you've got it then." Rachel cheered as Katie spread the invisibility cloak over the three of them.

"You think I'd have left without it? I knew we'd end up cleaning up their mess in the end!" And so the girls set off, searching the route and any open classrooms on the route for these two mysterious twins that had gone missing. They had nearly given up hope when they heard someone talking in the distance.

"Oh no, anything but that," Leshia whispered sounding pained, but sure enough, that drawling voice coming from round the corner was none other than Snape himself and he had evidently saved the girls the trouble of finding the twins. "Damn it, you two go back, I'll get them."

"Leesh no, we'll go together," Katie complained.

"Don't be stupid, we don't all have to get in trouble," Leshia countered and she turned around and smiled at the others. "Let's just say that's twice those guys owe me!" With a determined sigh, she threw off the cloak and jogged to reach Snape and the girls before he'd scared them half to death.

"Professor Snape," she called out when she rounded the corner and found the two identical girls – rather similar in design to young Leshia – cowing under his fierce look. "It's my fault!" Snape turned around slowly with a small-satisfied smile on his face.

"Miss Malfoy, I should have known," he said drolly. Leshia sighed exasperatedly and she glanced to the twins, silently wondering if they were all right. They seemed very pleased to see her. "I suppose you thought it was funny, sending these two impressionable young girls out to get into trouble?" Leshia narrowed her eyes at the man and merely shrugged her response. "Very well, all three of you return to your common room. Miss Malfoy, for your callous and cruel trick I am giving you detention every night this week…"

"Uh, I can't do tomorrow night sorry," Leshia quickly interrupted.

"And why not?"

"I'm already booked, sorry," the girl said with a cheeky smile. Snape inhaled angrily through his large nose and narrowed his eyes further at the girl.

"Very well, then you may join we at the weekend as well. As for you two," Snape continued looking at the small blonde twins with a disdainful look. "If I were you I would steer clear of Alecia Malfoy, you do not want to get caught up in her dramatics." The twins however, were watching Leshia with admiring looks that told her that that is exactly what they wanted. "Now all three of you, go back to your common room!" They didn't need telling twice and Leshia quickly led the girls back round the corner towards Gryffindor tower.

"Thank you so much," one of the frighteningly identical girls whispered – she had the name Eliot written on her forehead.

"Yeah, that was amazing! He really hates you!" the other – Jaime, if her label was to be believed – added in a similar tone of awe. Leshia grinned.

"Nah, old Snape doesn't hate me, he wouldn't dare, he's friends with my dad," she explained. "Now tell me, do you guys think we deserved a scare for what we put you through, or did you just get lost?"

"We got lost!"

"Yeah we've been having a great time!"

"And are these your actual names?" she asked indicating their foreheads. The twins giggled and then nodded. "Alright then, I'm Leshia, Leshia Malfoy."

"Jaime and Eliot Wood," Jaime explained and she held out her hand to Leshia, which Leshia readily accepted.

"Wood, don't suppose you're relations of Oliver Wood?" Leshia asked curiously, wondering if these children were related to the international level quidditch goalie Oliver Wood, who had unfortunately been out for the World Cup with a broken arm. The twins looked to one and other and then grinned proudly.

"Yeah, he's our dad."

"I thought he was Scottish?" Leshia remarked, noticing that the twins had rather nondescript English accents.

"Yeah he is, but our mum's from London, and that's where we grew up so…" Eliot explained and she trailed off as they had reached the portrait.

"Golden balls," Leshia repeated for the second time that night and the Fat Lady swung open allowing them to walk into the jubilant common room where everyone cheered happily at the return of the first years. Leshia once more skulked over to her friends in the window box and joined them.

"So, what did he say?"

"Detention all week," Leshia sighed. "But the kids got off, and that's what matters."

"You should have let us take the blame with you," Rachel complained.

"Ah maybe," Leshia said cheerfully with a shrug of her shoulders. "Who cares, it's just a week!"

XXX

The next morning Leshia's outlook on her impending punishment was less positive. 'Just a week' seemed like a frightfully large amount of time as she grimly pulled on her uniform and filled her satchel with books, quills and parchment On their way down to the great hall, several of the first years tagged along with them, and seeing their jubilant faces forced a smile onto Leshia's face; the important thing was that the new first years felt like part of the house, and they had provided entertainment for everyone else. As the girls dropped down at Gryffindor table they found their new timetables awaiting them.

"Oh great, charms first thing," Rachel sighed.

"Yeah and then Defence Against the Dark Arts," Leshia sighed and she looked up to the head table where her father was chatting to Snape with a frown. "Oh and I bet Snape's telling him about last night, so I bet I'll be in even more trouble!"

"Hey Leesh, check your mum out, she's majorly giving Professor Ramble the evil eye," Rachel laughed out loud. Leshia did turn and look and was surprised to see the suspicious and angry look on her mother's face as she surveyed the new buxom blonde teacher.

"Why is she so ticked off?" Leshia chuckled, but one look at Ramble and she instantly understood. The young woman was not-so-surreptitiously watching her father with a dreamy expression on her face. "Ah…yeah that would probably do it! You know, I really don't remember that woman very well."

"Well didn't your mum say she left when you were about eight?" Katie asked. Leshia shrugged.

"I dunno," she said with a smile. "God Katie you remember everything!"

"Look, the point is, you probably don't remember her because you were so young," Katie continued, ignoring her friends' sniggers.

"Yeah, but if she was serious about wanting to like woo my dad, then why did she never come round our house? Come to think of it…you guys were the only people that ever came round our house! Dad's friends never came round."

"Maybe they were keeping it a secret about where you lived, in case the Death Eaters caught you," Rachel suggested.

"There was this one time…" The girl trailed off and hung her head, the presence of the dream floating between the girls as though it were a heavy cloud.

"Do you still think your dream was real?" Rachel asked softly. Of course Leshia had told her friends the moment she got home in two carefully written letters. They had concluded that it was very strange that Leshia should have such a lifelike dream and then discover the consequences of it to be true.

"The thing is," Leshia said softly and she looked up. "My dad always told me his father was dead." All three girls looked up to where Draco was now frowning at them all suspiciously. "He doesn't normally lie to me." Their serious thoughts were suddenly lifted though as Rodeo and Parys dropped down opposite them, with Rodeo sporting a rather feathery jumper. The girls instantly burst out laughing.

"What happened to you?" Rachel managed through her laughter. Rodeo grinned dashingly at the red-haired girl and shrugged, looking down at his down-covered attire.

"Made the mistake of leaving my jumper down in the common room last night didn't I?"

"What were you doing in your uniform yesterday, we didn't have classes you moron," Leshia giggled accusingly. Rodeo grinned at her charmingly.

"Ah, well you see the whole sleeve was unravelling so Nicola fixed it for me."

"Nicola?" Everyone stared in surprise at Leshia's unexpected venomous exclamation Leshia's eyes went wide as she was evidently thinking, 'damn, did I say that out loud', and with an embarrassed cough she turned back to her timetable, pretending to find it incredibly fascinating. Her embarrassment lasted all the way through their first lesson of the day, in which she couldn't meet Rodeo's eye, despite his best efforts to attract her attention. On their way down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class Leshia hurried ahead with Rachel and Katie hot on her tail, when it looked as though Rodeo was heading towards her.

"What's wrong with you?" Rachel asked with a big grin.

"Yeah, it's not like you to be jealous," Katie added softly.

"I'm _not _jealous," Leshia complained as they rounded the corner and found the Slytherins waiting for them, Damian Allseyer with a rather smug look on his face, his crony-like friends surrounded him, although on this occasion a person who didn't normally deign to grant Allseyer with his presence stood at his side, whispering something in his ear: Julius Black, believed to be one of the last remaining Blacks alive. He had remained in the shadows all through the last year, seemingly cantankerous with his peers for simply being. The girls had heard dreadful stories about the tall dangerous looking boy, and desperately wanted to know whether any truth lay in the stories.

"Oh look," Allseyer hooted happily. "It's the blood-traitor." He smiled even more as Leshia approached and he noticed the bruises and cuts his fists had inflicted were still prominent on her face.

"Don't you ever get bored of saying the same old thing over and over again?" Leshia asked in an uninterested tone.

"Watch it Malfoy, I hear Damian beat the stuffing out of you at the weekend, he could do it again," Tia Zambini, one of the dreadful Slytherin girls, cackled snidely and she hung off Damian's shoulder.

"Only this time you wouldn't get away so lightly," Allseyer added bitterly. "Though I must say, your appearance has enjoyed a remarkable improvement, perhaps you would like me to offer you this service every weekend, so you can start every week looking so healthy and fresh?" To the Slytherins' utmost surprise Leshia suddenly snorted before doubling over in laughter.

"Allseyer you're too much," she laughed. "Is that the best you can think of?"

"The blood traitor has a point." Everyone stared in surprise as Julius Black spoke aloud in public for the first time in…well…anyone's memory. He turned his cold pale eyes on Leshia and it felt as though he were glaring right into her soul. She glared right back at him angrily and for a moment everyone watched as the two children remained locked in a silent exchange.

"Professor Malfoy's coming!" Violet Pazz suddenly hissed and everyone jumped into line as Draco indeed appeared at the end of the corridor, a darkly mischievous look on his face. He looked from one face to the next slowly, making each and every one of the second years feel incredibly uneasy.

"I see the summer has caused you all to forget how to dress yourselves," he finally said loudly, a lopsided smile on his face. Knowing what he was talking about, several of the students rushed to tuck their offending shirts in. "Shirts!" he barked when several of the Slytherins had not understood his meaning. Once everyone was presentable the young man stepped backwards and pushed the door of his classroom open. His new schedule allowed him the privilege of having the first lesson on Monday mornings off, and so, the classroom was still sparklingly clean, having not been used yet. The only semblance that children had once graced it with their presence were the carefully scrawled 'Professor Malfoy is fit' messages on several of the desks, that had indeed been written in Everlast Ink. Professor Filch had wanted desperately to replace the desks and had begged the headmaster to place a charm on them all that would prevent the children from defacing school property again, but the cheerful old man had refused him, telling him that each and every note scribbled on a Hogwarts desk was part of its history. The grouchy caretaker had got the distinct impression that Dumbledore was rather amused by the whole thing.

"Why do we have to have Defence Against the Dark Arts after Charms, Flitwick doesn't care that we have our shirts untucked," Rachel grumbled quietly as they started filing in.

"Yeah, at this rate, we'll get in trouble every Monday," Leshia added in a similar tone.

"Do I need to remind you of the no speaking rule as well?" The girls looked up and found Draco looking at them with a borderline scary look on his face; he really was in a foul mood this morning. What on Earth had Snape told him?

"But we're not even in the classroom yet," Leshia countered.

"One more word out of you Miss Malfoy, and you'll be getting detention," Draco told her firmly causing his daughter to don a highly disgruntled and surprised expression. Behind her in the queue the Slytherins started to snigger and Leshia turned around fixing her glare on Allseyer, who at this moment in time was doing an impression of Leshia cowing in fear before her father. Feeling entirely furious Leshia pushed past her father when she got to the door – where he, as usual, was waiting to intimidate all the students as they filed past him – and stormed over to her desk. Her friends sat down either side of her; Rachel donning an expression similar to that of their ringleader, and Katie looking anxious that Leshia was going to get them into trouble. By now all the students had taken their usual desks with one exception, Julius Black had moved to Violet Pazz's place right beside Allseyer. What had he done that meant he was now in high favour with the Slytherin ringleader, or perhaps a more apt question would be, why had he now decided to grant them the privilege of his advice and conversation?

"Your other teachers may have decided to be lenient with you as this is the first day of term," Draco told them as he walked to the front of the classroom. "But as you ought to know, I am not that kind of teacher. You've had all summer to relax; now it is time for you to do something worthwhile again. If anyone steps out of turn you will be receiving detention, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor Malfoy," the class chimed, somewhat petulantly.

"Good, then let's begin. Last year, you were taught the very basics of dark creatures and beings associated with Voldemort," Draco announced. "We will return to those topics in a few years time in more depth. This year, we are going to cover the basics of dark magic, mainly hexes, curses and how to defend yourselves against them. Please open your textbooks to page twelve." Most of the students begrudgingly opened their new copies of _Dark Magic: Basic Lessons and Defence_ and started turning the pages. A few of the children were slower than the others, which caused Draco to add frostily, "I trust you all brought them with you?"

And so the lesson got started, with most children engaging in the lesson enthusiastically and in a well-behaved manner, so much so that Draco soon started to ease up and within no time he seemed borderline cheerful; only a little mind you. Even Leshia started to cheer up a little when Draco had deemed her answer on one of the questions worthy of five housepoints and had even smiled at her proudly, however her mood soon turned a little sour once more when a note landed on her desk carried on some magical breeze. Draco currently had his back turned as he was writing up the ten most common curses on the board. Judging from the satisfied smile on Allseyer's face, it had come from him. It displayed a badly drawn moving sketch of Leshia being surrounded by Slytherins and pleading for her life before they started to beat her up. Fuming now, she ripped a corner of her parchment off and scribbled:

_You wish_

_Care to put your money where your mouth is?_

Then, hoping her father would continue to have his back turned she nudged Rachel beside her, in an attempt the note would be passed on to Allseyer. However, Draco, aware that mischief was afoot suddenly stopped writing.

"Nobody move," he ordered and everyone froze in surprise as he turned around and found Leshia and Rachel mid-reach, both of them holding onto the note. With a heavy sigh Draco took out his wand and made a silent incantation that brought the note flying to his hand. He read it with one eyebrow raised and then looked up at his daughter with a bemused expression. "See me after class Miss Malfoy," he told her simply. "And to the rest of you, if I see one more note about anything other than curses, you will all receive extra homework." With this he returned to the board, missing the silent laughter that had all the Slytherins bent over their desks and turning red in the face. After crossing her arms and slouching back in her seat Leshia decided she would have to sort out Allseyer before he became too great a menace.

The lesson progressed without further complications and soon the bell for break rang. On cue Draco turned the board round revealing the title of the essay he was expecting them to write for their lesson on Friday:

_Compare and contrast the effects of the Spinewater Curse and the Bone-tickler Hex. _

_Using evidence from the _Magical Maladies _catalogue, choose one of these and present your theory for a counterspell_

The children stared in surprise at the essay title; they had never been set anything so difficult, before they frantically started writing it down beneath their notes.

"You will find that a conclusive and effective counter spell has never been devised for these curses as they are not terribly long lasting or life-threatening," Draco explained to the class. "Do not merely copy an existing counterspell, as I know each and every one of them. You will also be required to provide the theory behind your spell. I understand you have never done anything like this before, but I would not have set it if I did not believe you to be capable of it. Right…" All the children waited on tenterhooks, half way out of their seats already, just waiting for the all clear. "You may go." As all the other children filed out quickly, Leshia watched them all go past grimly. Her father was wiping the board clean while she remained slouched in her seat, her satchel on her desk, just waiting to be released.

"Uh…sir?" Leshia finally spoke aloud when Draco had finished wiping the board and looked no nearer to addressing her.

"I spoke to Professor Snape, he told me he caught you up last night, even after I had explicitly told you not to leave the common room again," he finally said and he looked up with a cold and questioning expression. "He also told me you were responsible for attempting to get two first years into trouble."

"I didn't…" Leshia began, but Draco held up his hand to silence her.

"I know, I told him he must have got it wrong. So what really happened?"

"They got lost on the chicken run," Leshia explained. "I found out when I got back to the common room and volunteered to go find them, but when I did they were with Snape."

"So why didn't you explain to him that they were lost, instead of talking back to him as you seem to have a habit of doing these days?" Draco was looking almost petulant; as though he were upset that Leshia's behaviour towards him was getting less and less respectful.

"He jumped to the wrong conclusion, besides, I didn't want those kids to get in trouble. It was their first night! And it was our fault they were up anyway," she complained. Draco nodded, feeling a stab of pride at her selflessness – the character trait she had inherited from her mother.

"And this?" he then asked holding up the note she had written. "I see this was in retaliation to someone's provoking…whose?" Leshia stared him in the eye and then shook her head; she was not a grass. "Very well, I didn't think you'd tell me. Let me make myself clear young lady, any fighting out of you and…" He trailed off; evidently threatening her with detention didn't appear to be a very good deterrent. "I will be very disappointed in you." Leshia sighed heavily, but her mission to put a stop to Allseyer's self-belief of invincibility still held strong. "Right then, seeing as your schedule for the foreseeable future is already fully booked, you are going to enjoy your punishment now?"

"Now?" Leshia repeated incredulously. Draco smiled evilly.

"Yes now," Draco said and he brought forward a box full of parchments and manuscripts. "Peeves got into my office last night and wreaked havoc. I've dealt with him, but he knocked over a pile of important documents." With this he moved Leshia's bag off her desk and dropped the box down, before taking one of them out. "You can tell which belong together by the code in the top hand corner, the rest you'll have to figure out for yourself."

"I'll never get all this done," the girl managed sounding grim. Once more her father smiled at her.

"Well then it's a good thing that you're coming round this evening," he said happily and started towards the door.

"This isn't fair," Leshia grumbled.

"What was that?" The young man turned around at the door and looked her in the eye with an unimpressed expression on his handsome face.

"Nothing…sir."

"I would suggest, that if you don't enjoy giving up your free time to help the teachers, then you should stop breaking the rules. Enjoy!" With this he headed out of the door and shut it silently behind himself. Out in the corridor he ran into Rachel and Katie, waiting patiently for their friend. "I'm afraid Leshia's going to be unable to join you this break time girls," Draco told them before heading off down the corridor whistling a cheerful tune.

XXX

Once Leshia was released at the end of break by Draco's return, she flat out ignored him and ran towards the west entrance, which would lead out to the steps down to Hagrid's hut. She was going to be late for Care of Magical Creatures at this rate. As she burst out into the chilly September morning she could see her classmates gathered around the half-giant outside of his hut.

"Damn," she cursed to herself and sped up, which at the end of the day, she decided was the cause of her fall. Tripping over her loose robes she sent herself hurtling down the steps, eventually coming to a halt when she spun off the steps and into the thicket alongside the path. Ignoring the searing pain from her already painful bruises, Leshia's attention was instantly captivated by a pair of extremely pale eyes illuminated in the bushes beyond by a shaft of light. "Hello?" she called out groggily. The eyes started to move away into the darkness of the woods beyond. "Please…help me!"

"Leshia! Are you alrigh'?" It was Hagrid, and after feeling a heavy hand on her cloak, the girl was easily lifted out of the prickly thorns and back onto the path where several of her friends were looking very worried. The remainder of the class – the glib Slytherins – were all gathered at the bottom of the steps silently cracking up with laughter. They had all seen Leshia tumble.

"I'm fine Hagrid," Leshia exclaimed breathily giving him a beaming smile. "Really, it's nothing," she added rubbing away a trickle of blood on her thumb.

"Are you sure? It didn't look like nothin'. Yeh took a bad tumbling Leshia I'll tell yeh that. Maybe you ought'a go to the hospital wing just to be sure eh?" Leshia thought of the embarrassment she would endure should she go to hospital wing. Things were bad enough as it was, so ignoring the painful throbbing in her head, and the searing stinging her thorn cuts were causing she shook her head.

"No really, can we just you know…get on with the class?" she asked hopefully. Hagrid sighed and nodded heavily.

"O' course, if yer sure." With this the massive teacher headed back down the stairs and as he turned Katie and Rachel rushed to Leshia's side.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Katie asked softly as the whole class followed Hagrid back down to the hut. Leshia nodded bravely.

"Yeah."

"That fall was wicked Leesh, you should have seen it!" Rachel crowed happily.

"Yeah, but it was pretty scary though," Katie quickly added shooting her cousin a 'be a little more sensitive' glare, which the redhead flat out ignored. They varied greatly on their estimations of how much Leshia could withstand.

"Did you guys see anyone?" Leshia asked, having not even heeded them. Her thoughts were on the strange eyes she had seen in the woods.

"What? Did someone push you?"

"No," Leshia said exasperatedly, giving Rachel a frustrated look. "Look…it doesn't matter. What are we doing today?" And so they started their lesson, with Leshia enduring more teasing from the Slytherins. Her day continued to get worse as their next lesson was with Snape in the dungeons and the girl managed to lose her house fifteen points. Finally the day drew to a close with a painfully boring History of Magic lesson.

"Done!" Leshia cried out triumphantly when they retreated to their dormitory to get rid of their heavy satchels. "The worst day of my life is officially over!"

"Uh Leesh?" Rachel asked wearily as she tipped out the contents of her bag over her bed so she could refill it for tomorrow's lessons and be done with it. "Don't you still have detention with your dad?"

"Yeah, and I don't know about you two, but I'm going to get started on the Defence Against the Dark Arts essay now, there's only a few copies of the _Magical Maladies_ catalogue in the library, and I bet no one will be using it now." Rachel and Leshia stared dumbstruck at their friend, who didn't seem to notice as she was stacking up all her relevant textbooks and a roll of parchment to take down to the library.

"Katie, it's the very first day of term, we are not going to do homework!" Rachel exclaimed, seemingly appalled by the very notion.

"Yeah!"

"Fine, you two can bum around playing chess for all I care, but don't come complaining to me when there are no copies available and you can't find of any evidence to use in your essays." With this she flounced out of the dormitory, nearly knocking Nicola and Ashley, who were just entering the room, off their feet. Her friends watched her go before turning on one and other with wide grins on their faces.

"So, chess it is then?" Rachel asked happily, and despite wanting to formulate a plan to get back at Allseyer, Leshia agreed and they spent the entire afternoon wrapped up in an exuberant game, which at one point had everyone in the common room watching and Tom giving a running commentary with a magically enhanced voice.

Dinner came and went and soon Leshia was trudging down to her father's office. Without knocking she walked in and found her parents intertwined on the settee, enjoying a glass of sherry. Upon the arrival of their daughter Hermione quickly got to her feet and walked over to her, worriedly examining all the new cuts and bruises that littered her face.

"Hagrid told me," she said sounding concerned. Leshia rolled her eyes and smiled genuinely, trying to let her mother know that she was fine.

"Mum really, I'm fine, don't worry about it," she complained good-naturedly and she pushed away Hermione's outstretched fingers, which were reaching for the worst of her thorn-related injuries. Her mother frowned worriedly, but pulled back anyway and looked over to where Draco had got to his feet and was making his way over to his desk where three of boxes full of documents were waiting.

"Right," he told his daughter and lifted one of the boxes down from his desk and laced it on the floor beside the settee. "Off you go." Leshia fixed him a dark look, before walking over to the box with her head held high. With a roll of her eyes Hermione walked up beside her husband and planted a firm kiss on his cheek.

"I had better go and finish packing," she told him with a smile.

"Packing?" Leshia asked curiously as she sat down beside the box of unsorted manuscripts.

"Yes, I don't have any lessons tomorrow, so I'm going to a site that has just been unearthed in the north."

"For how long?"

"I'll be back Wednesday in time for my lessons," Hermione assured her with a smile. Leshia still looked unconvinced by the whole thing.

"You will be careful?"

"I'll be fine, I promise!" Hermione assured her daughter, before she walked over and ruffled the girl's hair. "Try not to get any more detentions while I'm gone." Leshia smiled and nodded.

"I'll try." With this Hermione left her family to it and while Draco worked Leshia sorted through the papers until finally, after two hours the box was done and Leshia offered her father a goodnight before she rushed back to her common room just before curfew. Her friends were sat in their usual window box looking as though moments earlier they had been arguing.

"What's wrong with you two?"

"Nothing," they both replied forcefully. With a frown Leshia decided to abandon trying to pick apart their personal problems and soon she had joined them up in the window box.

"We have to think of a way to get Allseyer," she told her friends firmly. "He's walking all over me, making me look like such a…well…a loser!" Unsure of how much trouble this was going to get them into, her friends obliged, and by the time they were curled up in bed, they'd already brainstormed enough of an idea together to know that their plan, whatever it was going to turn out to be, would involve snakes ("For the Slytherin that he is", Rachel had added gleefully).

XXX

The following morning Leshia awoke to the sound of Katie being rudely awoken. Guessing that Rachel was on her way to terrorise her next, she slid out from under the covers and threw open her curtains just as Rachel was making a pounce for them. The resulting collision sent both girls flying over the bed and out the other side, giggling fit to burst.

"So this is what it would be like to have an annoying little sister," Leshia said cheerfully as she finally picked herself off the ground and headed over to her trunk where she had laid out her uniform the night before.

"Hey less of the little you!" Rachel complained, bringing herself up to her full height – an entire foot taller than her blonde friend – and puffing her chest out.

"Well I am older."

"By a fortnight!"

"So, older is older."

"Yeah, but I'm bigger, so there," Rachel chirruped happily, before she skipped back to her own bed to change.

"Size isn't everything," Leshia grumbled as she shut her curtains again, changing in the privacy of her bed, though she and the girls had grown up together and they were still too young for teenage shyness, Leshia didn't want her friends to see that she wasn't developing…in the slightest. As they had been unpacking into their chest of drawers the first night, the girl had noticed both of her friends unpacking a selection of bras and she had felt so ashamed of herself that she had unpacked later, when the others had gone to bed. Her distinct lack of growth was beginning to worry her more and more, as she noticed Katie was receiving an awful lot of male attention…not that she wanted boys to look at her. Perish the thought. So why did it pain her when Rodeo's eyes lit up as Katie entered the room?

Her worries were soon forgotten as Parys challenged her to a race on their way to breakfast, and she very nearly would have won had Professor Snape not materialised in their path with his arms crossed and a frown on his miserable face.

"No running in the corridors!" he barked at them. "That's ten points from Gryffindor!" He turned around and on cue Leshia narrowed her eyes at him, before entertaining her friends with a funny impression of the hook-nosed teacher. "And that's another five for your cheek Miss Malfoy." Parys though was laughing and this made it all worthwhile for Leshia, who remained in decidedly good spirits throughout breakfast.

"Hey look, some witch called Tamzin Taelius has gone missing," Katie remarked as she poured over the _Daily Prophet _her mother had subscribed her to. "They say that there are no leads and she went missing somewhere in Australia…weird…"

"Taelius…that sounds oddly familiar," Leshia thought aloud as she chewed on her breakfast cereal. For a moment it felt as though the girl knew where she had heard that distinctive name before, but just as it was creeping into her mind the post owls flocked into the great hall through the rafters, seeking out their targets with expert precision. Leshia was pleasantly surprised to find a large Barn Owl drop down in front of her with a small package and letter attached to its leg addressed to her. She quickly fed it a Cornflake, before untying the package and reading the letter:

_Hello my darling,_

_Well, I've arrived safely. I've been working all night, there's so much to learn and so little time to do it in! There's a little shop here in the boarding house, and I saw these and thought of you and the girls. Hope you enjoy :)_

_I'll see you tomorrow sweetheart!_

_Love Mum xxx_

_PS Don't give your father such a hard time, he's only doing what he thinks is best_

With a smile – with the knowledge that her mother was safe and that she was thinking of her – the girl dropped the letter and turned on the brown paper bag. Carefully she took it apart revealing a mountain of gem like stones in a variety of colours in a book-sized crystal box with the words 'Heaven Drops' etched into the top.

"What are they?" Leshia asked with a frown and she pushed open the lid, picking up one of the surprisingly light stones.

"Hey," Jaime Wood suddenly piped up from down the table. Hearing her sister's surprise and glee, Eliot too looked up and the moment her eyes fell on the box and its contents she too suddenly looked as though she'd been secretly charmed with the cheering charm.

"Where did you get those?" the girl asked, hardly able to contain her excitement and wonder.

"My mum sent them. Why? What are they? Some sort of game?"

"Some sort of game?" Jaime repeated sounding flabbergasted.

"You've really never heard of Heaven Drops, best sweets in the world?" Eliot asked, her eyes hungrily sizing up the sweets.

"They're also the rarest, there's only one wizard in the whole world who knows how to make them and he's up in the north of Scotland. They take thirty years to mature…how did your mum get them?" Leshia shrugged, but was looking at her present with newfound glee.

"She's at a dig site really far north…"

"Why are they so great?" Rachel cut in as she reached for one of the red small stone like gems and after a moment's thought popped it into her mouth. Everyone leaned forward in their seats eagerly, waiting for something fantastic to happen. For a few moments it looked as though the sweets' glory had been grossly exaggerated, as Rachel frowned, trying to figure out why these sweets were considered legendary, but then it happened; it was as though a rainbow was gliding down the back of her throat, filling her body with pure happiness. Her eyes swam with tears of jubilations and for a moment she started to hover out of her seat as the full effect of the sweet took hold. The effect lasted for a full minute, until she softly drifted back down onto the bench with a completely satisfied expression on her face.

"That was," she finally sighed slowly, that silly smile still plastered on her face. "Without a doubt…" Pause, for another contented sigh. "The most amazing experience of my life!" With looks of wonder on their faces Leshia and Katie both reached out and took a sweet, while offering one to the twins, before they too experienced what Rachel had felt. Once their feelings of euphoria had diminished, and all that remained was the feeling that one was being enveloped in a big hug, Leshia reached out and closed the crystal box, pulling it close to her for safe-keeping.

"My mum…is…by far…the best mum…in the whole world," Leshia finally managed through a lot of contented sighs.

XXX

"Good morning children," Professor Ramble called out to her new class of second years, a combined Gryffindor and Ravenclaw class. They had been seated a while as she had had an uncomfortable run-in with Peeves; though she was glad to say Draco Malfoy had helped her fix the problem by banishing the little fiend into the great lake where the darkness would disorientate the poltergeist for the better part of the morning.

"Good morning," a few of the children greeted her in return. Even though the effects of the Heaven Drops still had Leshia and her friends giddy with happiness, the moment Ramble turned to smile at them they all stiffened a little, knowing full well that this woman was a shifty character at best. "My name, is Professor Ramble and I'm going to be taking over from Professor Tinreed. My mother was a muggle and for the longest time I knew only the muggle world, that is, until I got my letter." The beautiful woman paused to beam at the children, before she continued with her introduction. "It is a different world, one that is not without its merits, but alas, one that comes with its fair share of trouble too. I believe that your last teacher taught you the very basics of muggle life, electricity, fuel and the transport system, yes?"

As though controlled by one mind the class nodded as one. With the exception of a few very eager and sheltered children from wizarding families (who were fascinated by all things 'muggle'), the majority of this class found muggle studies a tediously boring class and were all eager to drop it as soon as they were able after their third year.

"I had the pleasure of reviewing your examination papers from the end of term, and I must say, I am very happy to have the pleasure of teaching such a high calibre class." Pandering to the children's' vanity seemed to pay off and soon most of the children were sitting up and paying attention. "Very well, let us begin."

"They're all buying into her big smiles and batting the eyelashes routine," Leshia whispered to Katie and Rachel, her eyes trained on Rodeo on the other side of the classroom, who was sat straight up in his seat watching Ramble with a goofy smile. "Besides, why's he paying attention, he never pays attention, he knows all there is to know about muggles! He is muggle born after all!" Ramble, who either possessed a more lenient approach to chitchat in her classes, or possessed none of Draco's keen hearing, ignored the girls' whisperings as she crossed the classroom over to a long table that contained a series of oblong shapes under a veil.

"Every time we start a new topic, we will begin with a practical, so as you might better understand the subject matter when you come to it," Ramble was telling the children as she walked over to the veil, ready to lift it. "As you all know, Hogwarts Castle seems to have a dampening effect on muggle technology, too much magic disrupts the electricity that fuels all of their gadgets and gizmos. However, I have had a word with Dumbledore and together we had figured out a way to supply this classroom, and this classroom alone, with the means for electrical power." The children grew more interested, so much so, that even Leshia leaned forward a little, wanting to know what was under the veil. "Now, can anyone tell me ways in which muggles relax?" Several hands darted into the air. "Yes Miss White?"

"Watching the tevelision?" she suggested hopefully. Ramble smiled.

"Nearly, it is called a television, and yes, you are most correct, it is a common form of muggle entertainment," Ramble told the class and she lifted one corner of the veil revealing a strange black cube, with a glass front. Muggle-borns and a few of the wizarding children knew exactly what a television was and recognised it for what it was – Leshia in fact, had grown up watching muggle-television (or rather, the 'picturebox' as Draco had called it) when her father had not had the time to devote to her before her coming to Hogwarts. "Anyone else?" Fewer hands flew into the air this time, as the television had been the most obvious guess for the majority of the class. "Mr Holsson?"

"Playing on the computer Professor," Rodeo replied smugly. Once more Ramble nodded with a big smile.

"Very good," she beamed and unveiled a strange object that looked very much like the one that had come before only this one had a strange slab with keys attached to it, and so Ramble continued to unveil several games consoles, a music keyboard, a CD player and a selection of muggle sports equipment.

"For today's lesson, I would like everyone to get familiar with these items…" For a moment the new teacher was forced to pause as a chorus of jubilant cheers went round the classroom, even the girls couldn't help but join in. "We will be starting our first topic tomorrow, Muggle Leisure Activities, and I would like you to be personally acquainted with the themes and objects we will be discussing."

By the end of the hour-long lesson every single child was convinced that Professor Ramble was their new favourite teacher and that Muggle Studies was going to be their new favourite subject. Poor Professor McGonagall, who had them afterwards for transfiguration, grappled to maintain their attention as she taught them the basics of transfiguring live objects into inanimate ones, as they were all whispering to one and other about the great muggle toys they had played with.

"You know," Leshia whispered cheerfully as she feigned to take notes. "She's not half bad, that Ramble woman."

XXX

Later that afternoon Leshia begrudgingly remembered that she had detention with Snape before dinner, so after their last lesson of the day she parted with her friends outside the Gryffindor common room and sulked away, leaving Rachel and Katie in good spirits to enter the bustling common room.

"Are you guys coming outside to play a game of football?" Rodeo asked them as they sat down in their usual window box. After exchanging a look that said Katie couldn't spare the time to play and Rachel didn't consider the game worthy of the time it took to tell Rodeo where he could go stuff his football (only meant in jest, this had become rather a running joke amongst the friends) the boy rushed off with a big grin on his face. Though this was nothing to the way Katie's face lit up as she watched him walk away to where the boys were waiting for him.

"Katie, not again," Rachel suddenly groaned. Her raven-haired cousin looked to her in guilty surprise, though a trace of anger lingered in her green eyes.

"I haven't done anything!" Rachel lowered her head with an incredulous look on her face.

"So I just imagined that little trickle of drool dribbling from your mouth the moment Rodeo's back was turned?" she asked pointedly, though her large blue eyes filled with concern.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you did!"

"Oh Katie, I just don't think it's a good idea for you to go fancying Rodeo, that's all."

"Well why?" Katie suddenly complained with a forlorn expression on her face. "I mean…you know…hypothetically," she quickly added.

"Just because of…Leesh and everything," Rachel tried tactfully. At this remark Katie's face seemed to morph into an anger that she normally held below the surface.

"Well why should Leshia get first dibs on all the boys, it's not as if she's stuck a flag into him and marked him as Leshia-only territory is it?" Katie complained. "I mean for pity's sake, she doesn't even fancy him."

"She does," Rachel countered firmly. "_You_ know it, _I_ know it…and deep down…well she knows it too, she just hasn't realised it yet."

"What, and while she grows up the rest of us are supposed to just hang about in the rafters picking up her cast offs?" The two cousins looked one and other in the eye hotly, until both softened their expressions and looked away. "I didn't mean that…you know I didn't. It just bugs me, I mean, I really like Rodeo and I think, well, I think he likes me too." Rachel sighed and hung her head thinking, 'that's what I'm afraid of'. Though she could never choose between her cousin and their best friend, she knew how Leshia would respond to Katie putting the moves on Rodeo. Leshia wasn't emotionally mature enough to deal with something like this, but the girl did believe that Katie was mature enough to put aside her feelings for the boy, so as their friendship might last.

XXX

It took Leshia all of half an hour to dawdle her way down to Snape's office. So much so, that by the time she got there he was most unimpressed.

"You're late Miss Malfoy," he barked at her the moment she walked in. Strongly considering walking right back out again, Leshia set her face in a grim expression and walked forward, despite her legs wanting very much to run in the opposite direction.

"I'm sorry sir, but…"

"That isn't important," Snape snapped and he handed her a large metal bucket. "I believe you know what to search for if I tell you to collect Kaan Husk seeds?" Leshia couldn't hide the pained expression on her face – she had spent an excruciating Saturday last year siphoning the contents of these impossibly hard husks into buckets. "Ah yes." The old Potions Master smiled. "I see you do remember. Very good, off you go then." Seeing that argument was futile, the girl glared forcefully at her father's friend before stalking out.

"Bloody Elf work," she grumbled as she made her way through the grounds – passing an exuberant football match Rodeo was heading – to the edge of the dark forest. Arguably, her task was easier than the year before as she had learned a new spell, which would split the husks open without the use of a sharp branch. Even better still, Snape had somehow bewitched the bucket to empty itself (either that or it was a bottomless bucket), so she could avoid any contact with the ghastly man. And so, the afternoon dwindled on and the sun started to fall behind the mountain ridge that snaked around the great lake. By dusk Leshia was sure she had collected enough seeds to fill ten thousand buckets, and she was getting thoroughly annoyed at the whole thing.

_Crack_

The girl stopped what she was doing, nearly dropping her wand in surprise. Very slowly she turned around and peered into the dark forest. Someone was there…watching her…she could feel it, even though she couldn't see further than a few yards.

"Hello?" she called out with more courage than she felt. "Is there anybody there?" Silence. And yet still she had the feeling as though somebody was waiting on the very edge of her vision, watching her. Feeling the little hairs on the back of neck starting to rise, the girl slowly climbed to her feet and started heading towards the darkness, her wand stretched far in front of her. "I know you're there! Show yourself!" As though on her command, slowly a shape started to emerge…or rather, a human-shaped object became slightly less black than the surrounding impenetrable blackness. It was not this that had Leshia worried; it was those eyes…they were back!

"Miss Malfoy what are you doing? Get away from there!" Spinning around Leshia found Snape walking towards her quite quickly, looking determined to get the girl away from the border of the forest. "Students are _not_ allowed to enter the dark forest!" With an angry guttural noise Leshia spun around to hide her anger and noticed that she shape, along with its hypnotic pale eyes, had retreated back into the darkness.

"Did you see it professor?" she asked as she felt the slimy teacher walk up behind her, evidently watching over her shoulder.

"See what Malfoy?" The girl turned around and looked up suspiciously at the Potions Master, he too was hiding something.

"Nothing, sir."

XXX

Snape personally escorted Leshia to the great hall where she was happy to see that her friends had taken a Heaven Drop from their hiding place and had left it waiting on Leshia's plate for her return, knowing full-well that detention would probably not put their friend in the best of moods. The sweet soon worked its magic and within no time Leshia was happily laughing along with the others about Rodeo being beaten by a Ravenclaw girl at the computer games they had enjoyed earlier that day – despite the girl being a wizard born child! The young girl did not notice Snape leaning in close to her father to whisper something in his ear, that instantly made the young man pale and turn to look at his daughter with a slight look of suspicious concern. However, the young girl did not look, and she went to bed that night with a conscience clear of her father's worry.

The week progressed slowly, though Leshia was happy her mother returned in one piece and also that Snape had changed her punishment to sorting out his stock cupboard instead. After their initial burst of love for Muggle Studies, it had soon returned to its position as least favoured subject, especially when Ramble set them a four-foot essay on the importance Leisure activities have had in forming Muggle Culture. In fact, the second years were noticing a marker increase in their homework-loads and by Thursday night Leshia and Rachel were sat hunched over a well-fought for copy of _Magical Maladies_, trying to complete their Defence Against the Dark Arts essays for the next day. It was late, as they hadn't been able to complete it before dinner due to Leshia's punishment. Curfew was nearing and this particular copy of the catalogue had been turned into a Library Only copy as children had actually cursed each other into the hospital wing trying to fight over it at the last minute.

"Should we have one more Heaven Drop, just to see us through?" Rachel asked hopefully. Leshia sniggered, but shook her head, quickly noting down a quote from the catalogue to help her equations for her counterspell.

"If we have one of those sweets we won't be in any fit state for working, now come on Rach, concentrate," the girl chuckled. "I think I'm nearly done with mine, here, what do you think?" Rachel peered over her friend's equations and by the grim expression on her face Leshia guessed that either her work was utter rubbish, or Rachel realised that Leshia had solved it and now she'd have to work alone.

"That looks well good," the redhead sighed. "I bet you just invented a real counterspell, and they'll name it after you or something." Leshia had to suppress the urge to roll around laughing as they had already been told off three times by the irritable librarian. "I wish my mum was a wizarding genius. All mine's good for is making up new spells to keep your hair ultra shiny, or a self manicuring nail set…" The girl trailed of and sighed heavily, making Leshia's heart ache a little; she hated seeing her friends suffer.

"Your mum loves you Rach, at least you know that," she tried tentatively. Rachel sighed and for a moment it looked as though tears were glistening in her eyes. Leshia frowned heavily, she had rarely ever seen Rachel crying, what was going on? Evidently there was more to Rachel's sombre mood than she had first thought. "Rachel what's wrong? Has something happened?"

"No," Rachel suddenly said with a forced smile, and she pulled back sniffing heavily, forcing her emotions back into her subconscious where no doubt they would swell for a further few weeks, and would undoubtedly be the cause of a very bad stomach ache further down the line. "Come on, now you're done you can help me!" With a comforting smile Leshia nodded once before she leaned over and peered over Rachel's notes.

"Okay, first thing's first," she said with a smirk. "Wand is spelled with a 'w' and not a 'v'."

The girls managed to finish their homework just in time, as Rachel had finished lasting the last letter of her essay the book suddenly snapped shut before them and floated obediently back to its shelf. They chased one and other happily back to the common room – or rather, Rachel tried to attack her best friend for accusing her of being illiterate and not listening to her cries of embarrassment that she knew perfectly well how to spell 'wand' and it had been a slip of the quill, that was all. They were nearly there when all of a sudden Leshia was hugged firmly from behind and half lifted from her feet.

"Hello you." It was her mother and after spinning round and grinning at Hermione, Rachel ran on ahead leaving the mother and daughter some time alone. "Glad to see you've been doing something productive," her mother told the girl brightly. Leshia grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Hardly, dad seems to think it's important to figure out a counterspell for the Spinewater Curse, but I think it's just funny." Unable to help herself Hermione smiled conspiratorially.

"Go on then, let's see," she said eagerly and Leshia showed her mother her work with a big smile on her face. Seeing the look of pride swell on her mother's face was well worth it and soon she'd been enveloped in another hug. "What's wrong with you mum? Did someone feed you love potion or something?" Hermione laughed genially and she let the girl go once more, beaming at her.

"I'm just so proud of you little one," she said and Leshia could have seen tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mum," she grumbled happily. "You can't call me that anymore, I'm nearly thirteen!"

"Well, you're still little aren't you?" The girl cast her mother a disapproving look, which soon had Hermione laughing fondly once more. "Don't worry darling, you _will_ grow!"

"Yeah, fat, knowing my luck," Leshia grumbled with a small smile. "So where's dad?"

"Prowling," Hermione replied with a conspiratorial smile.

"Good to know," Leshia admitted simply.

"Hey you, you know you're not supposed to roam the corridors past curfew, it's not safe," her mother countered sounding surprisingly serious. "I'm serious Leshia, if I hear you've been breaking curfew I won't be happy with you." Leshia sighed and nodded, defying her father was one thing; she'd been doing it her whole life at home when he was a relatively soft touch and her favourite pastime was driving the already irate houselves to distraction, but defying her mother was another. Hermione had an awful talent for making her feel indescribably guilty.

"So what were you doing out here anyway?" Leshia asked, trying to change the subject before she entered into a promise she was bound to break.

"Your dad and I were wondering if tomorrow evening you'd want to have dinner with us in Hogsmeade?" Hermione smiled happily when Leshia couldn't contain her excitement and her face broke into a happy smile.

"Hogsmeade? Why, what's the special occasion?" Leshia gabbled, tripping over her words in excitement.

"Well, since you asked…it's our wedding anniversary," she said with a bashful smile. Leshia frowned. "Thirteen years ago tomorrow I was about to become the happiest witch in England."

"You got married right before I was born?" Leshia asked with a wrinkled brow. Hermione laughed and nodded.

"Well, it was a popular time for weddings actually…" She trailed off. It was hardly appropriate to tell her preteen daughter that once everyone celebrated the downfall of Lord Voldemort rather too carelessly and discovered that in nine months time there would be a major baby boom, a lot of weddings suddenly started cropping up just in time to avoid an entire wizarding generation being born illegitimately.

"And Professor Dumbledore says I can go?" Leshia quickly asked, pushing the thought of her parents' wedding from her mind. Hermione smiled and nodded.

"He thinks it's delightful that we celebrate as a family…" Hermione stopped speaking and stared down the corridor with narrowed eyes.

"Mum?" The girl frowned and turned around to see why her mother had suddenly turned frosty and instantly saw what the problem was. Her father was walking towards them, though he hadn't noticed them as he was bowed in a rather intimate looking conversation with none other than Professor Ramble. Draco was nearly upon his peeved wife before he realised that the two women in his life were staring at him nonplussed – so like mother and daughter, their expressions were identical.

"Oh," Draco said sounding surprised, though the frown on his face indicated he didn't realise why they were glaring at him. "What's going on?" He glanced to Ramble for guidance, but the young woman was looking just as surprised as he, if not more so.

"One of the children set off an exploding card deck right by ear," the blonde bombshell suddenly erupted loudly, causing Hermione to dart back a little and Leshia to cover her ears. "I'm sorry," Ramble managed slightly softer. "I can't really hear very well, ever so sorry." She looked so humbled and embarrassed that Leshia softened her expression.

"Who did it?" she asked.

"I'm sorry?"

"Who did it?" the girl repeated louder.

"Who did it?" Draco stepped in, leaning close to the woman and speaking loudly in her ear. Ramble smiled and shrugged, trying to indicate that she didn't know. Leshia smiled kindly at the teacher, though Hermione still looked at her with a scowl.

"Have you eaten a sour lemon drop?" Ramble asked very loudly and Hermione gasped in surprise. "I hear they're circulating the school." Quickly the young mother shook her head and stepped behind her daughter, placing her hands on her shoulders. Ramble sensed the family tension and decided to make a getaway, so after she had positively bellowed her goodbye, Draco turned on his wife with his arms crossed, and a borderline angry yet amused expression. It was a stance he'd assumed many a time before while telling young Leshia off, and out of pure habit, she tried to move out of the firing range, but Hermione held her shoulders tightly.

"And?" Draco finally asked sounding amused. "Is there a reason why you keep shooting daggers at the poor woman?"

"Uh, mum?" Their daughter was ignored.

"Yes, I don't trust her," Hermione exclaimed firmly, causing Draco to snigger with laughter.

"Um…dad?"

"You just don't like her because she's the new favourite teacher around here," the young man laughed. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, but a smile pulled at her face.

"I can assure you, that's not it."

"Really, I should go and do my homework," Leshia tried, but her parents seemed oblivious to her.

"Granger," Draco chuckled, put he approached his wife, firmly kissing her while cupping the back of her head with his hand. Leshia squirmed out from between them and gave them her most disgusted look.

"Ugh yuck! There are impressionable minds present if you hadn't noticed," she grumbled and turned to go.

"Wait a minute," Draco called after her and Leshia turned around with a grimly anxious expression, what were they going to do next? "I think I've been very lenient with you on the whole Tally arrangement this week, not once have you come to say goodnight. Have you changed your mind or something?" Leshia grinned happily and quickly rushed forward embracing her father tightly. "Oh, so you haven't suddenly started preferring the houself to your old man then? That's good." Reaching up on her tiptoes Leshia kissed his cheek firmly, before turning round and hugging Hermione tightly.

"Goodnight," she said happily, before rushing off to the Fat Lady before her parents could break into another kissing match. As she entered the common room she found Katie and Rachel commandeering the comfy settee with the rest of their friends. After dumping her satchel and her finished homework in their dormitory Leshia rushed back down again and dropped down amongst them, leaning against the side of the settee and bringing her legs up over Parys, who in turn was half slouched over Rachel and Nicola.

"I'm going to have dinner in Hogsmeade tomorrow!" she announced proudly and she spent the rest of the evening basking in her friend's jealousy over such an exciting prospect.

XXX

"Essays," came Draco's bark the following afternoon when the children filed in for their last lesson for the day – an especially long lesson of Defence Against the Dark Arts. It had somehow been scheduled that instead an hour of lesson followed by the last half hour lesson of the day, Defence Against the Dark Arts would consume the entire final hour and a half of lessons of the week. Nobody seemed keen on this idea, not least Draco, who would have to find new ways to entertain – or terrorise – the children into paying attention. On his command, seventeen essays floated out towards his outstretched hand.

"Allseyer, Dregon and Stump…" Draco finally uttered darkly, looking up at the boys with one eyebrow raised. Across the classroom Leshia happily grinned to her friends; it was nice to see her nemesis be the subject of her father's anger for once. "Is there a reason why your essays aren't in the pile?" Damian Allseyer's cronies trembled a little under Draco's gaze, but the sharp-featured young man sitting between them did not. He felt he was above filthy blood-traitors like Draco Malfoy, and refused to feel intimidated by him.

"We couldn't get hold of the catalogue," Allseyer drawled. "_Those_ two were hogging it last night and wouldn't let us use it!" Here he cast a furious glare across the classroom to where Leshia and Rachel were grinning smugly – this was strictly true, and at the time they had been gleeful to deprive the Slytherins. Draco turned for a moment and looked at the girls, who promptly stopped smiling and stared back at him expressionlessly. Surely he couldn't tell them off, they'd done their homework!

"Perhaps you ought to have done your homework on time instead of leaving it till the last minute," Draco finally said, giving all five of the children a pointed look. "That's thirty points from Slytherin and you three can join me after class in detention!" Feeling outraged at being punished for something the Slytherins believed to be Leshia and Rachel's fault anyway; they seethed all the way through the lesson. Not feeling concerned in the slightest that they might seek out revenge, Leshia and the girls happily partook in the lesson and by the time the final bell of the day rang they were in very high spirits. Even Leshia's penultimate detention with Snape failed to ruin the mood.

"What's he got you doing today?" Katie asked as they paused by the main stairs that would lead Leshia down into the dungeons and the girls up to their common room.

"Oh, something to do with reference notes or something in the staff work room," Leshia explained with a shrug. Rachel offered her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry Leesh, just one more and then you're free!" Leshia was well aware of this fact, and she couldn't wait to get it over with so she could reclaim the precious little free time they were given as it was. Snape was waiting for her outside his office and without a word he flounced off. Wanting very much to turn around and walk away, Leshia begrudgingly followed him through a series of corridors she'd never been down until they reached a large room full of filing cabinets.

"In here you will find the reference card for every article, decree, spells written on scraps of parchment and even student lists," Snape explained as he pulled open a filing cabinet and a stack of cards jumped into the air. "I need you to find cards referencing any work written by a certain P L Eldegar. Is that understood?" Leshia nodded and sighed as Snape left her to it. It was a tedious job, searching through the many filing cabinets, especially when it turned out that Peeves had got into the occasional one and messed up the alphabetical listings. An hour in and Leshia was taking a small break behind one of the filing cabinets to read an interesting card she'd found about a certain Nigeleus Malfoy (a student at the school a hundred years previous) when the door to the reference room swung open and three figures stalked in. After glancing around themselves to check that they were alone, they slammed the door shut.

"Damn blood traitor, when my father hears of this one he'll be furious." It was Allseyer, and evidently, he and his thuggish cronies were alone. Hearing this jab at her father, Leshia instantly jumped to her feet and stepped out from behind the filing cabinet.

"Watch who you're calling blood-traitor you filthy bigot," she cried out to him angrily. All three boys spun around in surprise, they hadn't known the girl was in the room with them.

"Any pureblood who sullies their bloodline with mudblood offspring are traitors Malfoy!" Allseyer hissed and he started to approach Leshia, while his cronies slowly started making their way round the room. Had Leshia not been so blinded by her anger for this cretin before her, she may have realised in time that they were closing her in. "You may carry the name Malfoy, but you and that mudblood loving father of yours don't deserve it," the boy spat. Leshia laughed aloud mockingly.

"Oh you think you're so bad don't you? You think that just because your dad was a supporter of Voldemort that you can act like the tough guy? I didn't see your dad sacrificing himself up to be a Death Eater? He was a wuss just like you!"

"Well it's better than being a traitor like yours! We've all seen it, that mark on his arm he wants so much to hide, but no, it'll never go away! He was a traitor and he'll be reminded of it every day for the rest of his life!" Allseyer yelled angrily.

"Oh get over yourself," Leshia snapped. By now Dregon and Stump had circled her and too late the girl realised she was trapped, and Allseyer was approaching her with an evil grin on his face. She lifted her wand and began a spell, but before she could utter out the words her wand was snatched from her hand from behind and she was kicked hard in the back of her legs causing her to drop to her knees in pain.

"I'm going to enjoy this, you little blood-traitor…"

XXX

After a short spell of darkness and a lot of pain, Leshia pried her eyes open to the serious face of Snape.

"Oh, it's you," she managed with a grimace and she sat up quickly, feeling every bone in her body aching.

"Indeed," Snape said icily. "I am beginning to grow tired of scraping you off the ground Miss Malfoy. Can you walk? I believe your arm is broken." With a wince of agony the girl climbed to her feet and realised that yes she could walk. "Who did this?" the tall man demanded as they walked at a painfully slow pace towards the hospital wing.

"It was an accident," Leshia complained through gritted teeth.

"Walk into a fist did you?" Snape muttered petulantly. He had guessed that the girl wouldn't tell him even if he tried to force it out of her. She had some delusional idea that she was not a grass (no matter what pain was inflicted on her) and that revenge was far sweeter when delivered personally, rather than through the teachers.

"Something like that." Finally they reached the hospital wing and Madam Pomfry descended on young Leshia, quickly mending her broken arm and her nose, which had also unfortunately been broken. Within no time the young girl looked back to normal, though a few bruises and cuts remained, merely adding to the collection she had already gathered from her other 'accidents' previously in the week. It wasn't long before the hospital door swung open and Leshia's parents rushed in, in varying degrees of worry. Hermione looked extremely concerned to see that once more her daughter had been used as a human punch bag, whereas Draco merely looked angry that some student was taking his family for a ride.

"Oh Leshia!" Hermione exclaimed worriedly as she sat down beside her daughter and hugged her firmly.

"Mum I'm okay, Madam Pomfry fixed me," Leshia complained and she pulled back.

"Who did this to you?" Draco asked sounding dark and distant.

"I don't know," Leshia lied firmly.

"Damn your pride Leshia, who did it?" Draco was angry. How on Earth could he protect his daughter if she wouldn't let him?

"Draco, calm down," Hermione warned, but she turned on her daughter with a firm look. "We know you're not telling us the truth, who keeps hurting you sweetheart?" Leshia looked incredibly pained to be confronted with the concern in her mother's eyes, but she had to fix the Allseyer problem herself; she had too much pride and there was too much at stake. Hermione shut her eyes and for one horrible moment it looked as though she was about to cry, but the tears didn't come, and after a few moments she got to her feet.

"Come on," she told her husband softly. "We should all go and get ready for this evening, if you're up for it that is?" The mother looked to her daughter with concern in her face, which told the girl that she was forgiven. Hermione could never understand Leshia fully, the girl had too much of her father in her, but she knew that she couldn't get mad over this. She and Leshia were two different people, and from the very beginning Hermione had told herself that no matter how difficult it was at times, she would never judge her daughter for being the way she was.

"Yeah I'm fine," Leshia said with a smile, eager to go out for dinner. Hermione turned to go and Leshia began to clamber off the bed, but Draco didn't move.

"You're not going anywhere until you tell me," he said dangerously, moving to stand in her path, his arms crossed and his expression dark. Leshia looked up at him with a similar expression and shook her head.

"I can't tell you what I don't know."

"I think you do know."

"Well I don't." For a moment the pair stared one and other in the eye, until the silence was broken by the doors swinging open once more and Rachel and Katie running over.

"Are you okay?" Katie demanded worriedly.

"Yeah we just heard that Parys and Rodeo overheard a bunch of…" Leshia quickly shook her head urgently and her redhead friend quickly fell silent and bit her lip. Draco stared from one child to the next with an incredulous expression on his face, but before all Hell could break loose Hermione took him by the arm and started to pull him away. Knowing that Hermione was distressed by the whole situation Draco let it drop – for now – and then after fighting an internal battle he shrugged his wife off and crossed the distance between himself and his daughter with one stride, before he roughly kissed the top of her head. He had easily masked his concern behind his anger, but beneath that he was terrified hat one day whoever was assailing her (and he had a very good idea about who it was) would go too far and he would loose his precious child.

"Leshia meet us in thee entrance hall in fifteen minutes okay?" Hermione called after their daughter as she and Draco walked out. Once outside the young man let out a heavy sigh and felt very much like slamming his fist into the very solid wall.

"Draco please, you have to remember, she's exactly like you!" Hermione tried soothingly and she wrapped her arm through his, squeezing it tightly. "She's too proud to let you fight her battles for her." Draco shook his head, but he knew his wife was right. When he was a boy, he would have wanted to take revenge himself, but that only opened the door to further worries. What if Leshia did something terrible that ended up getting her expelled…or worse?

"I worry for her," he finally muttered softly. Hermione cast him a fond smile and sighed contentedly.

"We can't live her life for her Draco," she said sadly. "She has to make her own mistakes."

XXX

Once the girls had hurried back to the common room Leshia told them all about the attack on her as she sorted through her chest of drawers for something to wear out. To say the least the girls weren't in the least bit surprised when she disclosed the identity of her attackers.

"That Allseyer is _so_ going to get what's coming to him," Rachel bristled. Leshia nodded to her briefly before she climbed onto her bed to change behind the shelter of her curtains.

"Hey Leesh," Katie suddenly said curiously.

"Hmmm?"

"I hear that Daisy Cartwright in Ravenclaw fancies Rodeo and that he might fancy her back." Rachel turned to stare at her cousin in shock; where had that just come from? While she was desperately trying to shake her head to stop Katie from going any further, the curtains slowly opened revealing a dressed Leshia with a forced natural look on her face.

"Really?" she managed as she jumped down and searched for her coat in her trunk.

"Yeah, they might even go out," Katie added, expertly trying to gauge Leshia's reaction, but the girl had her back turned to her friends.

"So? Who cares about Rodeo's love life?" she finally exclaimed with a lopsided grin. "I mean it sounds as though she's got you to ask my permission. Why would I care?" Katie shrugged with a small smile.

"I was just thinking out loud," she finally said. Leshia nodded slowly, her expression pensive.

"Hey here's an idea, how about we all have a Heaven Drop before you go," Rachel suggested cheerfully and after making sure the coast was clear she lifted the corner of Katie's mattress and pulled out the box, hidden securely in one of Grandma Weasley's famous knitter jumpers. Before the other two could object Rachel had popped one into both of their mouths before enjoying her own sweet.

"I could never get bored of these," Katie finally sighed contentedly as Leshia started making for the door.

"Enjoy your boring Hogwarts dinner children, I'm going out," Leshia announced proudly and even though she was feeling giddy from the Heaven Drop, her excitement still peaked a little when her friends gave her grumbling expressions. With that she was gone and only when they were sure that the young Malfoy had disappeared through the portrait hole did Rachel turn on her cousin with an accusing expression.

"What the heck was that Kate?" Katie rolled her eyes, but still remained firm.

"How else are we supposed to find out how she really feels about Rodeo?"

"Yeah, well…did you see how funny she got? Don't do it Katie, I'm begging you!"

"Don't do what?" Katie demanded petulantly.

"Don't ask him out, please!"

"You know what Rachel, you've been siding with Leesh all term. Forgotten that we're related have you?" And with this the taller girl flounced off leaving Rachel angry at her for being so blunt, and also feeling sorry for her that she was being put in an awkward situation.

XXX

Leshia remained gleeful as she and her parents took a ride in one of the horseless carriages out of the school grounds and down towards the village she had never truly explored. The station lay on the very outskirts of Hogsmeade and from the tracks the view of the village was very obscured. Hermione pointed out all the shops and pubs that she remembered so fondly from her days at school. Finally their carriage came to a halt outside a small cosy establishment with the words 'Corman's Cauldron' written on an ageing sign.

"Who's Corman?" Leshia asked curiously as Draco helped her down, before offering his hand to his wife.

"He's a very talented chef," Hermione said softly. "The only one in fact, to have been named Witch Weekly's favourite chef fifty times!" Leshia frowned.

"Fifty? How old is he?"

"Very," Draco muttered with a grin and he held out his arm to his wife, which she took while smiling adoringly up at him. "Shall we?" And so the small family made their way in to the cosy restaurant. Every table in the main dining hall was different, having come from different nations from across the world, and every single one of these tables was full of happy customers, who were surprisingly hushed, though judging from the joyous expressions on their faces every time they took a bite, this was because they were spending most of their time savouring their food, and not enjoying their company. The Malfoys were led to the only empty table in the restaurant, and in Leshia's view, the best, as it was a large gothic mahogany table from Eastern Europe placed in one of the secluded bay windows, alight with candles. Draco and Hermione sat down opposite one and other as man and wife and Leshia was guided to the seat beside her father.

"You know when we were in school I always wondered what this place was like," Hermione said contentedly and she leaned forward, her eyes roving round the room. Draco was watching her, his eyes beaming brightly, an ever so slight small on his lips.

"I took Pansy here once," he finally said with a lopsided grin, which only intensified when Leshia spun around and looked up at him somewhat disgustedly.

"That woman at the world cup? You and her…" With an expression that read clearly that it didn't bear thinking about Leshia looked to her mother, who was smiling fondly.

"That was in sixth year wasn't it? I thought the rumours were true." Draco shrugged. "And, did she enjoy herself, or was this place not up to her high standards?" The young man chuckled, mainly at the continuing look of disgust on his daughter's face.

"Well, she certainly ate it all, and then most of mine," he said cheerfully.

"Why weren't you hungry?" Leshia finally asked. Draco looked away and caught Hermione's eye. She saw the sadness that lay there, the sadness that spoke of the torture Draco endured in sixth year, of what he had to do…of what he was going through…he couldn't hold down a single meal in those days, such had been his suffering.

"Well, because of the way she ate of course," Draco finally managed with a grin. "It was ghastly!" For a moment the small family was interrupted by being granted the menus.

"So how did you two get together? If you were with that Parkinson woman?" Draco and Hermione cast each other a fond look.

"Well," Hermione explained. "It all started in our seventh year, when we all believed poor Albus to be gone and Lord Voldemort was fast becoming more powerful than he had been before. Your father turned spy against him for the order of the Phoenix, even though it nearly killed him on several occasions."

"Why?" Leshia asked humbly.

"Because Voldemort was a very powerful wizard," Draco explained softly, closing his eyes to block away the memories of those dark times. "He knew what most didn't."

"We were preparing for a great battle…"

"The Battle of the Ages?" Leshia asked hopefully, referring to the large battle that had taken place on the night Voldemort had been defeated. Hermione nodded.

"I was helping your heal your father's leg after he'd barely escaped with his life from a run in with a band of rogue aurors who didn't know he was on our side, and well, we just sort of got talking…"

"_You should be more careful Draco, you're too important to us to throw your life away to some scared vigilantes with sharp sticks," an eighteen-year-old Hermione complained hotly as she tried tentatively to focus her Healing charm on an eighteen-year-old Draco's leg. He smiled dashingly at her, gritting his teeth against the pains shooting through his body._

"_Granger, you flatter me," he managed brusquely, a darkly amused glint in his bloodshot eyes. Hermione glanced up at him with a small smile._

"_You know that's not what I meant."_

"_Oh I know, perish the thought of sweet and innocent Hermione Granger deigning to dote some attention on evil Draco Malfoy," the young man chuckled, mocking Molly Weasley, who still had a very disapproving opinion of him. She flat out refused to speak to him and would leave the room when he entered the kitchen at 12 Grimmauld Place with news that he had undoubtedly risked his life to bring to them. Such was her anger over his part in Dumbledore's decline._

"_Oh leave Molly alone," Hermione laughed. "And besides, you are evil," she added with a teasing smile._

"_That hurts Granger, really it does," Draco replied and he threw his hand over his heart, suddenly adopting a horrified expression, for all pretences, looking as though he were suffering from a heart attack._

"_Oh my God Draco! Are you alright?" Hermione called out and she rushed forward, dropping down at his side and leaning down to see whether he was still breathing. As she did so his expression suddenly turned into a charming smile._

"_That's what I like about you Granger," he said simply and sat up, twisting his hands together awkwardly. "Even though for six years I've acted despicably…and even though I've done terrible things…you'd still help me. As far as good people go…well…you're the best one I know…" It had obviously taken the young man an awful lot of effort to say these things so Hermione smiled and reached out her hand, which after a moment's hesitation, Draco took tentatively._

"_Well, as far as evil people go…you're by far the most surprising," she said kindly, with an expression that read that all else was forgiven, and all that mattered now was getting Harry through the following weeks, which would hopefully bring about the end of Voldemort._

"So did you get together then?" Leshia asked eagerly. Draco smiled and shook his head.

"No, not that day anyway," he said and he hung his head, feeling bashful over the events that had followed.

"Your father fell in love with me," Hermione told Leshia happily.

"Well, sort of," Draco quickly tried as he lifted his head and grinned at his wife.

"Only he didn't have the courage to tell me!" Hermione continued with a big smile, which soon faded. "I don't think he ever would have said anything had he…"

"What did he do?" Leshia asked eagerly.

"I saved her life," Draco replied softly, feeling renewed tension in his chest as he thought of the day he nearly lost his true love before he'd even had the chance to tell her…

_Draco dragged Hermione's unconscious body from the fray he'd just risked his life to save her from. She was badly injured and terrified that he was going to loose her, there were tears streaming down the young man's bloody face._

"_Hermione," he called loudly, trying to rouse her. "Granger please, you have to wake up! They've set up an anit-apparation spell over this whole area, I can't get us out of here, you have to wake up!" Still the young woman's eyes remained closed, her heavy eyelashes, thick with the ash that was choking the air and blocking out the sun, fluttered against her bloody cheeks. Around them the sounds of the Great Battle filled the sky. Like a mighty roar the cries, the curses, the screaming, all culminated into a deafening sound, one that echoed around the burning forest. The young man scrambled in his bag for a flask of a drought that Hermione herself had cooked up, one which _might_ help bring fallen comrades round. At the time Draco had teased her for her use of the word 'might', but now, it was his only chance of saving her. He eased a little of it into her mouth, but were he expecting something spectacular, then he would have been gravely disappointed._

"_Hermione please," he cried out when the woman of his dreams looked no closer to waking up. "I can't go on without you, I can't…" The tears were streaming down Draco's face as all around him the Roar of the battle rose into the sky. "I'm afraid, I'm afraid of losing you, when I've never even told you how much you mean to me. Damn it Granger, I love you!" Feeling as though the entire world was coming to an end Draco dropped his face into Hermione's cloak, trying to block out the horrors that night had brought._

"_You what?" Draco pulled back in surprise and stared into Hermione's eyes in amazement. "You love me?" Hermione croaked once more. Draco swallowed against his tears and nodded ashamedly, but Hermione didn't look appalled…no, she was smiling. Very painfully, the young woman forced herself to sit up and then she reached out a bloody hand and touched the young man's cheek. "Why didn't you tell me before?"_

"_I couldn't…not after everything I've done…after everything that's happened. I couldn't bare for you to turn me away…"_

"_But what made you so sure I would?" Draco looked up, his eyes filling with hope. Hermione was smiling back at him, a few tears trickling down her cheeks. Draco lifted his hand and wiped them away with the backs of his fingers. "I love you Draco Malfoy."_

"And then what happened?" Leshia asked eagerly. Hermione and Draco met each other's gaze and their eyes crinkled in fond memory. What happened next was hardly appropriate for their twelve-year-old daughter to hear.

"Well…" Hermione began awkwardly.

"We got separated," Draco cut in, skipping out the awkward part of the story. "Molly and Arthur Weasley found us and they took your mother back with them, because she needed medical care and I went to find Harry…" He hung his head; this part of the story was too painful and not for Leshia to hear as it involved his father. "And together we took on Voldemort."

"And won," Leshia added triumphantly. Draco grinned broadly at her and nodded.

"But that meant that he had to go into hiding and I had no idea if he was alive, or if he was ever coming back again," Hermione explained softly. "And when he did things just got complicated because of Viktor and…" Everyone at the table fell silent and whereas Draco was staring in shock at his wife, his expression slowly becoming unimpressed, Leshia looked surprised.

"Krum?" she asked.

"Drop it Leshia," Draco warned and Hermione looked pained, before hanging her head.

"But dad!" Leshia cried out exasperatedly. "Mum just…"

"I said drop it," Draco repeated firmly. All set to go into belligerent preteen ranting mode Leshia squared herself up for an argument, which never came. Thunderous explosions roared up from the streets, followed by the shrieking sounds of the windows breaking and the doors groaning under the pressure wave. Outside in the street, something had just come to a fiery end. Without thinking Draco was on his feet within seconds, his wand held out in front of him with one hand, and his daughter wrenched to her feet and now running to catch up with him while he still held the scruff of her jumper in the other.

"Mum!" Leshia cried out as she searched the panicking crowds for her mother's familiar face. "Dad I can't see her!" she cried out sounding terrified as they flew out onto the street where the fire had consumed a row of carriages. Black burned wood and twisted metal littered the ground and the air was acrid with black smoke and swirling red flames.

"Draco!" It was Hermione, and she sounded as though she were in pain. Without thinking Draco headed back, still trying to keep his daughter by his side, but it would seem fate had other ideas as she was wrenched from his grip by a passing throng of terrified villagers. Leshia was swept away hearing her father crying out her name, but try as she might the girl couldn't fight the crowds. She eventually escaped down the other end of the burning street, but her view of the restaurant was obscured by the swirling flames and the terrifying smoke. Feeling as though she would much rather curl up tightly in a little ball, Leshia slowly placed on foot in front of the other, heading back towards the chaos and the debris with a heavy heart. She had only stepped forward a few paces when there, emerging out of the flames like two beacons in the dark, those two grey eyes lit up in the distance…

XXXXXX

END OF PART II

Thanks for the reviews I received, I have tried to take the advice into consideration :)

Please review, won't someone please think of the fanfic writers?

_Update 19/11/05: If you guys want more, you're going to have to review. Sorry to seem harsh, but if this story isn't generating interest (though enough of you are reading it), then I won't continue to post – got better things to do than rush to finish a chapter for people who don't even seem to like it_


	3. Part Three

**Generations: Tales of the Last Stand**

**Part III**

"Leshia!" That was her father's voice in the distance.

"Dad!" the girl cried back sounding frightened and she tore her gaze from those hypnotic eyes to see a figure stumbling through the smoke.

"Leshia?" The figure was turning this way and that.

"Dad is that you?" Leshia cried out frantically. In the distance the figure stopped pacing and seemed to turn towards Leshia. In an instant it started running towards her and as the smoke cleared Draco's frightened face came into view. The young man didn't stop running until he had reached his daughter and lifted her up into a powerful embrace.

"Thank God you're alright," he muttered into her ash-covered hair.

"Where's mum?" Leshia asked as the acrid air stung the back of her throat.

"She's fine, she's looking for you," Draco replied and he finally let go of his daughter, looking into her eyes with his brow dipped in concern. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked firmly and Leshia quickly nodded, though the terror on her face was clear as day.

"Dad what's going on?" she asked in a tone barely louder than a whisper. "Is it Voldemort?" Draco smiled and shook his head.

"Cart full of damn Fire Whiskey exploded, it was an accident," he explained and he pulled the girl into the crook of his arm. "I don't think anyone's hurt."

"I didn't think that Fire Whiskey was supposed to blow up…it doesn't normally happen does it?" Draco sighed and shook his head.

"I'm the wrong person to ask sweetheart, you know I hate the stuff. Now come on, let's go and find your mother, she's probably having kittens by now." Together they stumbled through the hectic street, the whiskey laden smoky air burning at their lungs. They found Hermione frantically interrogating a crowd of alarmed looking locals as to the whereabouts of her daughter, but when Draco finally brought Leshia before the terrified mother Hermione left the poor villagers alone and then pounced on the bedraggled looking girl and hugged her in a tight embrace.

"We should get back to the castle," Draco told his wife softly, looking around the shocked onlookers suspiciously. Something didn't feel right.

"Yes," Hermione agreed and she started towards their cart, but it had gone missing.

"We'll have to apparate to the gates," Draco announced. His wife nodded quickly and then looked worriedly to her daughter.

"It's best you go with your father, I'm afraid I might leave part of you behind." Leshia grinned and nodded, before Draco pulled her from her mother to his side and wrapped his arm firmly around her. Moments later Leshia felt the odd sensation of hitching an apparating ride, before they all materialised in front of the Hogwarts Gates.

"I bet they heard the explosion from the castle," Leshia told her parents as they opened the magically sealed gate. "I bet everyone's really worried." She didn't see the dark glance pass between her parents, as her own mind was spinning of ways to terrify her friends by embellishing this story into astronomical proportions.

"Leshia you mustn't turn this into something it's not," Draco warned her as they walked up to the main door of the castle, well aware of how her mind worked. Leshia gave him a somewhat petulant look.

"I don't get it," she said with a frown. Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yes you do, and I'm warning you, don't." He sounded so strict and sincere Leshia faltered, what was her father so worried about?

"We don't want to panic the wizarding world because a fire whisky cart accidentally caught fire do we sweetheart?" Hermione cut in soothingly, ever the peacemaker. Leshia wrinkled her brow in disagreement.

"It kind of _exploded_ mum."

"Either way it was accidental," her mother persisted as they reached the school entrance and hurried in to the warmth. "There is no need to terrorise the school is there?" The girl exhaled heavily as she placed one foot on the stairs, ready to go up to her common room.

"No, I guess not," she finally sighed and hung her head, feeling incredibly putout by the whole night.

"Stay out of trouble you," Draco said with a smile and he reached out and ruffled the girl's hair. "And good luck tomorrow in training, don't fall off." Hermione looked highly alarmed at the prospect, but she leaned over and kissed her daughter's cheek without a word, before the two of them headed in the opposite direction. Frowning after them Leshia bade them goodnight, before she climbed the stairs, wondering where her parents were going. Their chambers were also up the grand staircase, it would seem, that they were heading for the venerable old headmaster's study. Evidently this harmless cart of fire whisky incident wasn't as harmless as they were trying to make out.

Pushing them from her mind, Leshia rushed back to her common room and rushed in to find her friends tangled in a messy heap on the settees. They were draped around the boys, and it would seem that most of the children from her year were all lazing around together. Feeling decidedly left out, and indescribably prickly at seeing Rodeo's legs draped over Katie's knees Leshia nodded briefly to them all before rushing up to their dormitory. It only took Katie and Rachel a few moments to join her; the former looking decidedly red in the cheek.

"What happened? Why are you back so early?" Rachel asked sounding confused.

"Yeah and what was that bang we heard earlier? Did something happen?" the raven-haired girl added sounding distinctly concerned. Leshia dropped down on her unmade bed, kicking off her boots and flopping back on her pillows.

"That bang was bad news," she grumbled. After glancing at one another with furrowed brows, the cousins dropped down around their friend, their expressions demanding more information. "Apparently it was a cart of fire whiskey exploding of its own free will, but I don't buy that."

"I thought hat fire whiskey barrels had spells on them to keep them from exploding," Katie said with a frown.

"Exactly!" Leshia complained and she sat up. "My parents are trying to turn this into something completely innocent, but you should have seen my dad, he was proper freaking out and he _always _stays calm! And to make matters worse, they were telling me this story of how they got together, and my mum let slip that she definitely was with that Viktor Krum guy before she and dad got married."

"Wow," her friends gasped.

"Yeah I know right? But before I could say anything my dad clamped up. He was angry at the thought of me even _asking_ anything, I'm never going to get the truth out of him." The girls lapsed into silence, while Leshia toyed with the idea of mentioning those grey eyes to her friends. She was yet to tell them of the strange feelings she had that she was being followed, and preferred to keep it that way, lest they think her to be losing her mind. Besides, she wasn't even sure yet whether she wasn't just imagining it all; she had been under a lot of stress lately.

"You know Leesh," Rachel said slowly, in a tone that signified that either Leshia was about to hate or love her next suggestion. "Maybe…maybe you _should _just write to Krum and get it straight from the horse's mouth."

"Rachel no!" Katie exclaimed in horror, and she looked very much like she was about to clip her red-haired cousin round the ear for mentioning such a heinous suggestion, but Leshia was looking pensive.

"You know…that's not all that bad an idea," she eventually said thoughtfully. Katie's look of horror turned now to Leshia, who ignored her promptly. "What would I say?" Her question was directed at Rachel, as Katie was still looking too horrified for words.

"Leesh your dad would kill you!" the girl finally exploded worriedly. "And I don't mean just a little killing, but I mean proper 'bye-bye-Leshia-hope-you-enjoy-the-next-life' killing!" Leshia and Rachel gave her identical looks of bemusement.

"You know, he _would_ go mental if he found out," Rachel finally conceded, looking to the smallest member of the trio with a look of grim agreement. Leshia however was smiling deviously, and this could only mean one thing: she was once more going to opt for the kamikaze option over common sense.

"Oh lord," Katie exclaimed exasperatedly, and she climbed to her feet. "Be it on your own head Leshia, your dad is going to blow his top this time." With this the sultry raven haired girl flounced from the room, hiding her look of extreme worry from her friends; she didn't want Leshia to drive a wedge into the seamless relationship she enjoyed with Draco, it would break her heart to see them drift apart. She and her own father had never enjoyed the closeness Leshia held with Draco and it was another thing she had always envied her friend for.

"She's such a wuss," Rachel chuckled once Katie had left, but Leshia watched her go with a slight pang of annoyance, wondering whether the taller girl was going to bleed her heart out to Rodeo in the common room, and whether he would once more sling his legs over her. "Earth to Leesh? Hello? Is there anybody home?"

"What?" Leshia finally managed, turning to look at her friend in surprise.

"Yeah I thought as much," Rachel sighed with a smirk. "You have now idea do you?"

"About what?" Leshia asked curiously as she jumped from the bed to search for a piece of parchment.

"About what you're going to write in this letter of yours." Leshia grinned and took out a quill.

"Oh come on, you mean 'Dear Mr Krum, have you ever had relations with my mum? Yours sincerely Leshia Malfoy' isn't good enough?" the girl asked cheerfully as she dipped her quill in ink. Rachel grinned and shook her head.

"You're going to have to try harder than that mastermind."

_Dear Viktor Krum,_ ("You know my dad once told me he loved being called Vicky," Rachel had suggested with a thoughtful expression, though her idea was promptly rebuked by Leshia rolling around with laughter on the bed.)

_My name is Leshia Malfoy; we met at the World Cup in the summer? My mum is Hermione Malfoy and you nearly got in a fight with my dad Draco._ ("Leesh, you can't put that!" "Well why, they did!") _I know you knew my mum back when you were in school. I was wondering, could you tell me what happened between you and her? _("No Rach, I wasn't serious about the whole 'are you, or have you ever had relations with my mum' thing!" "Oh why not, it's classic!" But try as Rachel might, Leshia would not budge on the issue.) _I know you have some sort of history, and well, I would really like to know!_

_Yours sincerely,_

_Leshia Malfoy_

"I still think you should have pulled the relations line," Rachel sulked as Leshia rolled up the piece of parchment and walked over to the window. The blonde girl grinned at her friend with a shake of her head as she opened the window and held out her arm. Within moments a large tawny owl had flown to the sill and waited patiently while Leshia attached the letter to its leg.

"Bring this to Viktor Krum okay?" she told it, and with a hoot the owl assented and departed into the night. Leshia watched it disappear into the dark until the dormitory door flew open and a jubilant Nicola and Ashley burst in chattering about the latest gossip.

"Ooh shut that window Leesh, it's freezing in here," Ashley complained and Leshia quickly pulled herself back into the room, wondering why Katie hadn't returned. As though sensing her thoughts Rachel asked,

"Where's Katie?"

"Oh she said she wanted to stay up with the boys, they're having some sort of exploding snap competition," Nicola explained light-heartedly, as though this didn't seem in the same league as the rumour that Clarice Hedgegrove of Hufflepuff had been seen holding hands with David Sykes of Ravenclaw at lunch. Feeling exceedingly disgruntled, Leshia closed herself within her curtains and changed, while Rachel was drawn into the gossip grapevine.

"Night," Leshia called to the three of them half-heartedly, before she rolled over in bed and stared at the family picture she had stuck up on her bedpost. They were all smiling while Hermione stared adoringly at the rough and tumble game Draco had just initiated with Leshia…it seemed a lifetime ago.

XXX

The following morning Leshia woke early before her friends and changed into her training gear, feeling a renewed rush of excitement as she pulled on her longed-after England quidditch jersey. Trying to be as silent as a mouse she crept out of the dormitory and down to the great hall where a handful of early-risers were silently eating their breakfast. Leshia however, was the very first Gryffindor to arrive and she sat down at her usually seat serving herself a meagre portion. Slowly she started to eat, feeling a sense of calm wash over herself. None of last night's temper had returned, and for the first time all week, Leshia felt entirely relaxed. Her punishment with Snape had been revoked after the card-room incident, and finally, after a summer of hall-racing and messy quidditch tournaments at the burrow, Leshia was finally going to get to get the chance to spread her wings once more as it were and really let loose. She'd missed the feeling of the wind in her face and the weightlessness flight offered her.

The Gryffindors seemed to be especially lazy on this Saturday morning, as by the time Leshia had finished, not one of her housemates had joined her. Not putout in the slightest by this fact, the girl turned to go, but as she swung her leg over the bench a piece of parchment caught her eye…or rather, the scowling face on the front did. With long silver hair, and pointed features, the face of Lucius Malfoy was unmistakable. Before Leshia could stop to think the parchment was in her hand and she found herself staring into the troubled eyes of her grandfather. Their remoteness stirred intense feelings of unease in the girl, and she could have sworn she'd seen those eyes before. Remembering her dream she realised why they held such a feeling of helplessness over her, and fearing company, Leshia quickly shoved the parchment into her pocket. Not a moment too soon either, as at this moment the door behind the staff desk opened and both Leshia's cheerful looking parents emerged. Seeing their daughter they nodded happily to her and she returned their greeting quickly. In an instant Draco sensed she was hiding something, but before he could start towards her Leshia had hopped off the bench and after waving briefly to them she rushed off.

The young girl didn't stop until she'd made it back to her bed, where she shut the curtains after herself, blocking out the snoring of her still-sleeping friends. With trembling fingers she unfolded the parchment and stared once more into the dark face of her grandfather.

"Who are you," she whispered and she traced her fingers over the man's portrait. Finally her eyes were drawn to the scribbled writing underneath the picture and she began to read – with difficulty as the scrawl had been written in a hurry with not much care for whoever poor fool was going to try and read it, one might think in fact that the writer had not intended it to be shared.

_Lucius Malfoy. Unconfirmed death? Missing in action, Auror of unknown identity reported death. Not trustworthy. Most dangerous of all death-eaters still at large. Suspected keeper of the final horcrux secret. If he's dead, Voldemort's secret dies with him and the dark lord will rise again. Of highest importance to find Lucius Malfoy._

_Highest risk bracket: Hermione Granger (missing) and the child. Highest level suspects: Draco Malfoy and the child. Do not trust the Malfoys. Repeat, do not trust the Malfoys. Suspect the child._

_Lucius is a hard one; he would kill his own to revenge his master. Have pity on those who come before him._

_He is not dead._

Leshia reread the scrawl several times, making sure she had read every word correctly, before she allowed herself to sit back on her heels and stare ahead with a horrified expression. After a few moments a rattling sound alerted her to the fact that her hands were shaking and she promptly hid the note away under her pillow. Who had written it? It was evidently someone in the ministry, or perhaps someone independently fighting Voldemort's reign. More to the point, what on earth was a Horcrux? Leshia knew that the threat of Voldemort was not yet laid to rest, but she also knew that the chances of him returning in her lifetime were slim as all of his followers had been killed reportedly, and that without them, his chances were very slim.

But this note said otherwise. The very thought of darkness returning forced Leshia to push open her curtains and physically let the light in. If Voldemort returned his main target would be… Feeling slightly sick Leshia reached under her bed and pulled out her broom. She needed to clear her thoughts; she needed to push away the feeling of sickly-terror that was churning her insides this way and that. As she was climbing from her bed though, the curtains on the bed beside hers flew open and Rachel's sleepy face grinned at her.

"You're getting an early start," she exclaimed hoarsely, rubbing at her tired eyes to force away the sleep. Leshia nodded briskly.

"Yeah," she managed and started heading towards the door, aching to get away. This was not the time for telling her friends what she had found on the note.

"Leesh? You okay?" Rachel asked with a frown, and she stood stock still, one hand still balled up in her eye socket.

"Yeah I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?"

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Rachel remarked, now approaching her friend cautiously.

"Don't be stupid Rachel," Leshia complained and she finally backed into the door of the dormitory. Without waiting for her friend's response she darted through the door and was gone, leaving Rachel staring after her in complete confusion.

"Katie," the redhead finally called out loudly, as she marched over to her cousin's bed and flung the curtains open revealing an exhausted and grumpy looking Katie. "What did you do last night?" The taller girl's expression instantly turned stony.

"Absolutely nothing," she said pointedly and she sat up in bed pushing her duvet off herself.

"Well Leesh just stormed out and she called me stupid…"

"You are being stupid." Ignoring her cousin's quip Rachel carried on. Whereas normally she would be mid-wrestling match at this point, Leshia's behaviour was too peculiar for her to digress into a giggling maniac.

"Well she wouldn't just snap like that unless something had happened, I mean this is Leesh, she's the very definition of 'chilled out'," Rachel complained sounding a little forlorn. What was happening to those around her? Why was everybody changing, just when she needed things to stay the same? Katie sensed Rachel's discomfort, so she softened her expression.

"Look whatever's going on with her right now, I didn't do anything, I swear!" Rachel sighed sounding very much relieved, before a cheeky grin spread onto her face.

"So you weren't off snogging Rodeo behind the banners last night then?" Katie's eyes went wide and she managed to make an extremely haughty noise before lunging at her cousin, initiating the wrestling match Rachel had managed so well to avoid. And for a few moments, neither one felt the pressures of their impending teenage years and all the melodramas they would bring, and managed to cling on to a few precious more childhood moments. Well, that was until Nicola split them up by pouring her jug of water over them, and giving them a very cantankerous look that told them they had woken her from her beauty sleep.

XXX

"She's acting odd," Draco grumbled as he leaned back on his chair in Hermione's study. His sock-clad feet were on her desk, messing up the papers she had been eager to mark, and yet Hermione couldn't tell him off, the mere normalcy of this situation was like heaven to her and she wanted it to last forever. Earlier that year she would have given anything to be sat in a room with her husband, enjoying the simple pleasures of the sun streaming in through the window warming her face, and highlighting the muscle definition across her husband's bare chest. His expression was slightly thunderous, and he was getting in the way, but she loved him more than any man, and it had been partly for these qualities that she had fell for the troubled Draco Malfoy. Some of her earliest memories of the time when she started to feel more than petulant annoyance for him; he would be sat brooding in the corner just as he was now. In some sense, she realised her love for him grew from an intense feeling to nurture him, to help slay those inner demons, to help him lay his dark past to rest.

"She's a twelve-year-old girl," Hermione chuckled, pushing her emotions away; they were starting to make her feel giddy with the notion that she was free. "Surely everything she does is odd to you?" Draco looked up with his furrowed brow and eventually he shook his head.

"No," he said decidedly. "She _is_ acting strangely." Hermione smiled and looked away. It would seem she had a struggle on her hands. With Leshia growing up and becoming a little woman, Draco was going to have to come to terms with the fact that she was going to change. The pair of them had relied on one another for their sole support and love, so changing the dynamic of that relationship was going to come at a hard price. Draco would most likely end up heartbroken when the girl eventually found a young man of her own, but Hermione was prepared for that eventuality. She would help him through.

"I think it's to do with Katie," Hermione said softly as she rescued several essays from beneath her husband's feet.

"Katie? Why, what has she done?"

"Nothing," Hermione said genially and she smiled adoringly at the look of frustrated confusion on her husband's face. "Draco haven't you noticed that our daughter is…well…small?" Draco still looked terribly confused.

"Well she's a little girl," he complained eventually. Hermione smiled even broader and even this was beginning to annoy Draco; the fact that his wife had all the answers as far as their daughter was concerned because she knew exactly what the young Malfoy was going through.

"Draco she's going to be thirteen in two months, she's practically a teenager, you can't keep calling her a little girl she'll bite your head off," the young woman laughed. Draco bristled slightly.

"Well you were small if I remember right," he complained instead. "So what's the problem?"

"Well quite right, I was short," Hermione said deftly. "And I keep telling her she will grow, but you see…Ginny was always very tall."

"What's Ginny got to do with anything?" For a moment Hermione stared at him with a small smile on her face, until eventually Draco clicked on to what she was trying to tell him. "Ohhh," the young man exclaimed. "Katie _has_ grown quite a bit hasn't she?"

"Yes, and Leshia hasn't. I think that's all there is to it, all summer she was asking me when she was going to grow, and then here's Katie, who's suddenly turned into a proper young woman and…"

"Okay okay I get it," Draco said quickly, feeling decidedly uncomfortable at the thought of his own daughter's impending puberty, let alone the thought of her friends maturing into young ladies. He paused for a moment looking thoughtful, before he sat up in his wife's chair and got to his feet, looking around for his clothes so he could go and get some of his own work done, he's been heading towards his study when his wife had waylaid him and lured him back to their chambers. He dressed in record time and headed for the door where he paused and grinned devilishly at his wife. "Nice try, but that's not it."

XXX

The young girl who was causing all this concern meanwhile had just wandered onto the quidditch pitch. She was an hour early and there was no one around to ask her what the matter was, or to interfere, so with a satisfied smile she climbed onto her broom and kicked off firmly, sending her rocketing through the chilly morning air. With frightening speed she lapped the quidditch pitch, pulled in and out of hair-raising dives, and dodged imaginary bludgers with lightning quick reflexes. By the time all her pent up anger and fear had been exhausted it was nearly time for everyone else to arrive, but the young girl was shattered. So she allowed herself a few moments so sit back on her broom and scan the grounds while she got her breath back.

This is when she saw the figure. Barely distinguishable from the dark forest it stood before, there was the definite form a cloaked figure standing not far off by the dark forest, evidently watching her with a strange gold device, which didn't look all too dissimilar to the omnioculars everyone had purchased at the world cup. For several moments all the air went out of Leshia and she simply stared with wide eyes at the figure, a strange heavy feeling of panic spreading through her limbs making her feel like an anchor on her precarious perch high above the quidditch pitch. She stared too long without breathing in to replace the air that she had lost in her moment of terror, and without warning she suddenly felt incredibly dizzy and toppled from her broom.

Down below, and most fortuitously for young Leshia, Ryan Lofting the captain of the quidditch team, a charming seventh year with more charisma than most of his peers combined, had just walked onto the pitch with the training balls. He'd been watching the young seeker with a brow furrowed in concern, why was she staring off into space? Why was she ten minutes early in the first place? He had called to her, but she didn't heed him, so he had clambered onto his broom to fly up to her when she started to fall. Suffice to say, the moment he saw her feeling he sped up a notch and easily managed to catch the girl out of her freefall.

"What are you doing?" the young man demanded. "Trying to get yourself killed?" For a few moments Leshia seemed unable to reply as she gasped for air.

"It was an accident," she finally managed. "I fell." Ryan flew the girl back up to her broom and she clambered on, not daring to look towards the forest lest the figure still be there.

"What were you doing?" Ryan asked sounding angry and concerned. For one horrible moment it was as though he had morphed into her father, as his mannerisms were the exact same.

"I thought I saw something, but then I got light headed and fell," Leshia explained. Ryan stared her in the eye trying to see whether he could read a lie, but the girl seemed genuine enough. "Thanks for catching me," Leshia added sheepishly. Ryan rolled his eyes and inhaled slowly.

"You're kidding right?" he managed. "God, I've never been so scared in my whole life!" Leshia grinned and shook her head.

"Not that you're blowing things out of proportion," she chuckled. Ryan glared at her fondly.

"Look the next time you go leaping off your broom, just make sure I'm not around to see it," he said firmly, before flying down to the ground. Leshia followed him and questioned him on the rumour that he had been seen being rather intimate with Eva Westwood from Slytherin during the week. The young man grinned dashingly at the girl, but thought she was far too young to hear about his conquests, so he didn't divulge any of his escapades. In truth, Eva Westwood had been one of three young women who he had been spotted 'being intimate' with this week.

"I know you won't tell me anything," the girl eventually said with a smile after she had spent the last ten minutes teasing him; reminding him very much of his little sister. "But you should be careful around those Slytherins." Ryan grinned at her and slung his arm around her shoulders.

"I think I should be telling you that," he said, though through his grin Leshia saw concern as he took in her bruises and scratches. "So, who's been giving you a hard time eh?"

"Lofting come on," Leshia complained fondly, and she was thankful that Tom and Luke were bounding towards them. Last year after Leshia had been left for dead by a group of assailants, Ryan and his best friends Luka and Oskar, fellow heartthrobs from the seventh year, had been very difficult to restrain once they found out Leshia knew the identity of her attackers. Had she told them who had led the attack on her there was no doubt in my mind that the young man responsible would not have been walking out of the hospital wing, as he was after she was done with him. If they were to find out about Allseyer (though Leshia had a feeling they already knew, but were respecting her wishes and keeping a distance from the young man)…it just didn't bare thinking about.

"Are we picking on Leesh?" Tom asked cheerfully.

"You're scrawny and you're a teacher's pet!" Luke crowed happily. Leshia burst out laughing, but Ryan gently punched the younger boy's arm playfully.

"Behave," he laughed.

"Yeah well at least I don't have a carrot top!" Leshia replied gleefully, darting away from her captain as he was reaching out to ruffle her hair.

"That goes for you too Malfoy," he chuckled and he opened the crate of balls, throwing his team members the quaffle to warm up with. "Here you go, do something creative." And so their training began. It wasn't terribly eventful; in fact, the most entertaining or eventful thing to happen all afternoon was Luke and Tom having a mid-flight collision because they were playing an airborne version of chicken. Leshia remained detached and distant the entire training long, her eyes always drifting over to the forest should that figure return, but it never did. By the end of training Leshia was beginning to wonder whether it had been a trick of the light, and so by the time she had reached her dormitory to change she was in much better spirits.

Katie and Rachel were noticeably absent from the common room, so after picking up her satchel full of homework, and a moment's hesitation, she reached under her pillow and stuffed the document she had found into her bag. Armed with her heavy bag the young girl headed for the library in search of her friends. Her estimate as to their whereabouts was as usual spot on, and within moments she had dropped down beside Rachel at the small table.

"You feeling more normal now?" Rachel asked slightly petulantly, before she winced after Katie had delivered her foot a warning stomp. Leshia though, merely grinned at the redhead apologetically.

"Yeah sorry about that…look," she told them and she reached into her bag, pulling out the ageing parchment that had thrown her so that morning. Her friends crowded over it and tried their best to read it, which took several moments due to the heavy-handedness of the scrawl.

"Leesh," Katie exclaimed breathily once she had fought her way to the end of the document. "That's…that's big!"

"He's not dead," Rachel whispered softly, seemingly afraid.

"I know, my parents lied to me…my dad, he said grandfather was dead, but now this…"

"I meant Voldemort," Rachel corrected her with a shudder. "He's going to come back." The other two stared at her for a moment with very serious expressions, dreading the thought of the evil dark lord himself returning to seek vengeance on those who crossed him: their loved ones.

"Don't be stupid," Katie eventually managed and she tried to laugh off the threat. "He's not going to come back!" Leshia tried to nod in agreement, though she didn't feel as sure.

"You know…maybe you should talk to your parents about this, I mean, something's not right," Rachel said after a few moments' awkward silence. Leshia frowned and raised her eyebrows.

"Talk to my parents? They'd only lie again."

"Well this is serious Leesh, I mean, you know, with your dreams and everything," Rachel tried and she hung her head feeling very humble.

"You think my dream has something to do with this?" Leshia asked as she lifted the paper and folded away Lucius' scowling face, before tucking the note into the pocket of her satchel.

"Well it's a bit of a coincidence don't you think? You start dreaming of your grandfather showing up at your house after he was supposed to have been dead for seven years and now this…" Katie said firmly. "Stating that he's not suspected dead after all. Who was the anonymous auror that killed him anyway? Do you know?" Leshia hung her head a little.

"My dad," she whispered. The girls lulled into silence once more, as each of them contemplated the gravity of the situation at hand. "Either way, let's just wait this out a little. I mean…they'll just lie again won't they? And we need to get to the bottom of this."

XXX

By Monday the girls had got very little work done, as most of their free time over the weekend had involved scouring the books in the library and the outdated magazines and newspapers, to see if they could find out more about the past, and find out whether their parents had lied about anything else. However, they were disappointed to find that the period they were after happened to coincide with a strange gap in the libraries stock lists. The girls were unusually silent as they made their way down to breakfast, feeling the weight of the world on their shoulders.

"You guys are quiet," Rodeo remarked as they sat down around him and Parys. Leshia was about to respond when she noticed that he wasn't looking at her as he might usually do, no, he was watching Katie. Feeling her skin prickling she focused on buttering some toast and tried her very best to ignore the conversation Katie and Rodeo engaged in. Every time Katie burst out laughing, or every time Rodeo seemed to stare in wonder at her friend Leshia felt like screaming. So much so that she escaped from breakfast early and headed off to Charms on her own. Professor Flitwick was very surprised to find her waiting alone outside fifteen minutes early and employed her help in distributing cushions for their practical lesson. Throughout the lesson itself Leshia bristled even more as Katie and Rodeo paired up.

"Leesh, what's wrong?" Rachel asked as she successfully used the enlarging charm on their cushion; Leshia was yet to get one right, and this was most odd as she was usually the first in the class to succeed.

"Nothing," her friend lied and she aimed her wand at the pillow. "_Engorgio,_" she ordered rather fiercely; a little too fiercely, as suddenly the pillow burst open into a cascade of flaming feathers. One of them landed on Katie and set the tips of her hair on fire, and to Leshia's utmost horror she felt pleased at the sight. What was happening to her? She wasn't vindictive! After this she forced herself to calm down, so much so that by the time they'd lined up outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, she was feeling very much back to normal. After making sure their shirts were tucked in the girls huddled together to discuss the next stage in their plan of action to retrace their parents' lives to find any other discrepancies in their versions of events. It was thus that Allseyer and his unpleasant band of cronies found them.

"Off on another self righteous crusade are we ladies?" the boy drawled unappealingly. Leshia and her friends pulled apart and stared at the boy in disgust.

"I didn't realise that having a conversation was such an alien concept to you Allseyer," Leshia exclaimed arrogantly. "Then again, judging by the company you keep maybe it isn't so surprising. It's hard to strike up a discussion when you're barely capable of stringing a sentence together," she added after casting his burly friends a disdainful glance. Behind the girl, her fellow Gryffindors started laughing and pointing at the embarrassed Slytherins. Allseyer alone stepped forward with a dark smile on his face as he examined his red knuckles almost lovingly.

"Who needs conversation?" he said darkly. Leshia felt her skin crawl with the humiliation as all the Slytherins suddenly looked to her with jeering smiles. "I don't remember it helping you much on Friday…" The boy had to cut his jibe short, as the widely spaced footsteps coming up the corridor soon announced Draco's impending presence. Sure enough, his long-loping stride could be seen in the distance and the children rushed to tuck their shirts in. By the time the delectably unpredictable teacher had arrived at his classroom he found them all to be presentable for once.

"Good," he merely said before he pushed the door open and strode in. The class filed in after him and as Leshia and Damian Allseyer took their seats they watched one another; Allseyer with a smug grin, and Leshia with her eyes narrowed in contempt. She couldn't let him think he'd got away with it; she had to rock the boat a little.

"Professor Malfoy?" she announced and she lifted her hand into the air. Allseyer soon lost his smug smile and lowered his head, giving her a dark glare. At the front of the classroom Draco looked up in surprise, the class' essays firmly in his hand, ready to be handed back.

"Yes what is it?" he asked with a suspicious frown.

"On Friday, Damian Allseyer was in the Card Reference room wasn't he?" she asked feigning curiousness. At the front of the class Draco frowned heavily and lowered his head, what was his daughter up to now? He could see the unpleasant Slytherin boy glowing red in the corner, evidently they were at each other's throats once more. How wonderful.

"Yes," he finally replied. "I sent him there. Why?" Leshia raised her eyebrows and rubbed at a painful looking bruise on her cheek. Across the classroom Allseyer was grinding his fists together, wanting very much to leap across the multitude of desks in his path and pummel the arrogant girl. If she was going to grass then she would very much come to regret it.

"I was just wondering," Leshia replied lightly after a while. Draco looked to the ceiling and exhaled slightly angrily.

"The next time you feel like wondering Miss Malfoy, please do so within the confines of your own head," he said brusquely, as half the class burst into sniggers. Leshia however, smiled to herself thinking that she may have angered her father a little, but Allseyer at least knew the score, she had more power than he gave her credit for. "Right, essays," Draco announced at the front of the classroom and he let go of the pile of parchments in his hand, allowing them to fly back to their owners. "In general, I was impressed." Leshia quickly scanned to the end of her essay and found a barely-legible O beside a scribble that read:

_Tested your counterspell on Professor Granger, she said it worked splendidly_

Leshia grinned at what her father had written, but then she frowned. How had she not seen the resemblance before? Her father's script was incredibly similar to the one found on that peculiar note about her grandfather. What on earth did that mean?

"Leesh," Rachel whispered at her side, after the red-haired girl had glanced up to see that their teacher was busying himself with writing something on the board and didn't seem to notice some of the other children chatting amongst themselves over their marks. Leshia looked up with an expectant smile. "What does this say?" Rachel asked as she pointed to a comment below her E. Leshia leaned over and easily read her father's writing. For a moment she sniggered and everyone fell silent as Draco turned round at the front of the class and shot the girl an almost curious warning look, before he turned back to his blackboard. Slowly the chatter resumed.

"Well?" Rachel persisted and Leshia turned to her with a beaming smile.

"It says 'wand is spelled with a _w_'," she whispered gleefully and watched with great pleasure as Rachel's cheeks lit up in embarrassment. Leshia silently chuckled and turned back to her own essay to glance once more at her father's handwriting. How could she have missed something so obvious?

"Leshia." This time Leshia looked to her other side where Katie was giving her a worried look. She pointed down to her essay where an O lay beside some more scribbled comments once Leshia had looked at her and then gave her and urgent look. "The handwriting," she mouthed and Leshia nodded quickly, before replying.

"I know," as softly as she could manage. The girls exchanged a concerned glance before finally Draco turned around at the front of the class revealing three counterspells. To Leshia's utmost horror, hers was amongst them.

"Three of you," Draco told the class as they all turned to the board. "Performed outstandingly." The classmates looked to one another to see who had come up with the best counterspells in the class. "Miss Potter? Would you come up here?" Katie glowed bright red before she forced herself to get to her feet and walk to the front of the class, glancing at her counterspell, which stood at the top of the board. "Mr Black?" All the heads in the room swivelled as Julius Black climbed to his feet and walked up to the front of the class to stand beside Katie. "And Miss Malfoy, if you please?" Leshia frowned heavily, but complied anyway and within moments was stood on Katie's other side. "as a reward for coming up with the only effective counterspells in the class, you may test them out on one of your classmates," Draco explained to the three children. A small smile crept onto Leshia's face as a plan started to inch its way into her mind. Yes, it would get her in trouble, but oh, it would be worth it.

First Katie was allowed to go first and after a moment's hesitation she picked Rodeo as her partner, something that caused Leshia to feel a renewed sense of anger and for a moment she reconsidered her choice of partner to include Katie, but this was soon pushed from her mind. After successfully demonstrating her counterspell for the Bone-Tickler Hex amidst a class full of laughter, she and Rodeo were allowed to sit down.

"Very good," Draco said through his laughter – the effect the hex had had on the boy had after all been highly entertaining. "Right, Mr Black, your partner?" Draco said turning on the boy. He shrugged his shoulders and turned to Leshia.

"I'll just do it on her," he said simply. Leshia looked quite disgruntled at the thought of being picked by the reclusive boy, but Draco didn't say anything.

"Well go on then," Draco urged and he watched while the young man cursed his daughter with the Spinewater curse and then brought her back from it with his countercurse. Following this Black sloped back to his chair to a mismatched bunch of expressions from his peers. Many Slytherins glared at him for reviving Leshia, whereas some were happy that at least for a few moments he had been able to curse the wretched girl.

"Miss Malfoy?" Draco then asked his daughter and Leshia smiled sweetly at him.

"Damian Allseyer," she said simply and as though controlled by one mind, all the children's heads swung round as one to stare at the Slytherin boy.

"You're sure?" Draco asked sounding incredibly displeased. Leshia however, feigned innocence and nodded with a happy expression.

"Perfectly," she replied cheerfully.

"You wouldn't rather test it on say…Miss Weasley?" Draco persisted, his eyes gleaming with warning. Leshia shook her head lightly, her expression still preciously innocent; the young father saw right through it. "Mr Holsson?" Once more a shake of his daughter's head came in reply. "Me?"

"No, Damian Allseyer," Leshia repeated and so with a sigh Draco nodded.

"Very well, up you come Allseyer," he said almost petulantly, beginning to think this idea of his had been a mistake. Allseyer was looking thunderous as he faced off with Leshia in front of the class of students, who were all on the edges of their seats, leaning forward with looks of extreme excitement, eager for a showdown between the two ringleaders. Leshia grinned darkly at her nemesis and after rubbing once more at the painful bruise on her chin she raised her wand to the boy.

"_Furnunculus_," she cried out and the boy dropped down to his knees in pain, clutching at his face where painful boils had erupted all over his face. There was instant pandemonium as the Gryffindors started cheering and laughing and the Slytherins turned on them, their wands out, almost ready to start throwing their own curses around. In the midst of this noise Draco dropped to his knees beside the wounded boy and held out his wand uttering a silent incantation to stop the spread of the painful boils. Leshia hung back a little, feeling guilty at the look of concern on her father's face, but she had at last claimed a little of the vengeance she felt she was owed. By now the class had almost deteriorated into mutiny as half the children were almost on their feet chanting "Leshia, Leshia." It was all the girl could do to stop from bowing.

"Get out," Draco's furious tone came suddenly, silencing the unruly children immediately – you would have to be foolhardy to ignore the anger in his tone. Leshia looked a little surprised, she hadn't expected him to be quite _that _angry. Surely he understood? "I said get _out_!" Draco repeated a lot angrier and a lot louder. Feeling entirely misunderstood the girl walked over to her desk, picked up her belongings and walked out with her head held high.

After ten minutes of waiting in the shadows outside the classroom, in which Damian Allseyer was led away to the hospital wing by his cronies, muttering about getting his revenge, Leshia was beginning to regret what she had done. Would it be too late to knock on the door and tell her father she was sorry and could they pretend it hadn't happened? The weight of his disappointment was heavy on her shoulders and she wished dearly to see Draco, to apologise, to know that he didn't hate her. She was hovering by the door handle when clattering footsteps signified a woman's approach and Leshia darted back from the door to see Professor Ramble was heading her way.

"Leshia," the young woman greeted the girl happily. Leshia smiled at her uneasily. "What are you doing out here? Haven't you got a lesson?"

"Ah," the girl managed. "You see…there's been a bit of a…ah, situation…" Ramble suddenly nodded knowingly.

"Come on," she said and she started heading towards her classroom. "I need help sorting out some muggle toys for my first years, you can help me and tell me all about it." Anything was better than the guilt trip Leshia couldn't free herself from, so with one last glance at her father's classroom's door, she followed the beautiful teacher to her office. The Muggle Studies office had definitely undergone a makeover since the last time Leshia had found herself here in detention the year before.

Ramble had plastered the walls with magazine clippings and newspaper articles about things that evidently caught her interest. Colourful photographs from around the world lined her shelves and Muggle Posters jostled for space amongst the wizarding memorabilia on the walls. All in all, it was a lot more cluttered and homely than Leshia would have imagined. Ramble saw the girl looking about herself in surprise and she chuckled appreciatively.

"Oh I know, I'm awful aren't I?" she sighed with a smile. Leshia grinned sheepishly and took the seat Ramble was offering her. "Now, what exactly did you do that was so awful that your own father threw you out of his lesson?" Leshia sighed and started to finger one of the muggle artifacts that littered the desk absent-mindedly.

"There's this boy in Slytherin…we don't really get on," she began, and so, she explained the story of her animosity towards Allseyer and all the fights they'd been in. She nearly went as far as telling the surprisingly-easy-to-open-up-to teacher about the beatings she'd received, but managed to stop herself at the last minute and merely hinted towards them. "And so, there was this perfect opportunity to put him back in his place…so I took it," she finally finished and she looked up to see Ramble nodding in understanding.

"But now you wish you hadn't because you're afraid that Draco will hate you?" she said kindly and Leshia nodded grimly. "Well you needn't worry about that," Ramble chuckled warmly. "Your father could never hate you. You're the most important person in his life Leshia, that's all, so his emotions where you're concerned are magnified. He'll calm down."

"You think?" Leshia asked, already feeling much better. Ramble smiled kindly.

"I know so," she assured the girl and from that moment on, Leshia considered Ramble an ally. In the remainder of the hour-long period before break the pair chatted about this and that and Leshia began to feel like she really knew the young woman, but as break drew closer, Leshia began to grow quieter.

"Maybe you should go and apologise as soon as you can," Ramble suggested and Leshia looked up at her worriedly.

"Like now?" she asked. Ramble nodded in reply.

"I'll come with you if you like," she suggested and Leshia pounced on the idea, nodding vigorously.

"Would you?" And so it was agreed, and the pair of them walked back down to the Defence Against the Dark Arts corridor just as the bell rang fro break. Once more Leshia hid in the shadows until all her peers had filed out of the classroom and only now did she make her move by knocking softly on the door.

"Come in," Draco's voice barked from inside; he was evidently in a foul mood, and it was all her fault. After a reassuring nod from Ramble Leshia pushed the door opened and peered round the door. Draco looked up from the books he was skimming through and his expression turned stony. "Oh it's you," he said softly. Leshia wanted very much to turn and run, but Ramble urged her forward, before following her into the classroom and shutting the door. "Zahra?" Draco added in surprise when he saw who his daughter was with.

"Good morning Draco," Ramble greeted him with a smile, before she looked at Leshia and raised her eyebrows, silently urging her on.

"Dad I'm really sorry," Leshia blurted out quickly, looking intensely vulnerable. Draco turned his gaze back onto her and to her horror he still looked incredibly stony. "I didn't mean to…"

"Leshia don't give me that, you cursed the boy, that doesn't just happen by accident, you knew exactly what you were doing, so don't say you didn't mean it," he complained.

"But dad I didn't meant to upset you!" Leshia finished. "Allseyer deserves everything he gets," she added as an afterthought.

"What, even a night in the hospital wing?" Draco demanded and Leshia nodded firmly, wanting to blurt out that he'd landed her in the hospital wing and she still had the bruises to show for it, but she managed to resist and instead hung her head a little, still maintaining eye contact with her father. "I warned you didn't I? I told you not to start anything with that boy, and what do you do? You flatout disobey me and curse the damn boy in front of a classfull of pupils! I mean what were you thinking Alecia?" Leshia frowned looking wounded.

"Dad I'm sorry," she said sounding upset.

"Yes well sorry isn't good enough," Draco said firmly and Leshia looked away feeling tears stinging her eyes.

"Draco," Ramble suddenly intervened and she came to stand between the father and daughter. "Look how sorry she is, she didn't mean to hurt you."

"Zahra you don't know what she did," Draco complained half-heartedly.

"Yes I do, Leshia told me," Ramble countered. "She also told me how much she regretted hurting you and wished she could take it back." The manner in which the young woman was speaking was so reassuring, even Leshia was completely taken in by her, wanting desperately to believe every word she said. Draco looked quite taken aback and he looked back to his daughter with a much softer expression.

"I'm very disappointed in you," he said, but his heart wasn't in it. Leshia nodded dolefully to him. "And I'm going to have to give you detention tomorrow evening," he added and once more Leshia nodded in agreement. After inhaling slowly the young father nodded. "Okay then, your forgiven." Leshia's face instantly split into a happy grin and she lunged forward, hugging her father round the neck. He returned her embrace firmly, before she pulled apart and beamed up at Ramble.

"You've raised one of a kind here Draco," she said adoringly, leaning in a little to the young man. Draco grinned and nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, you can say that again," he chuckled.

"It's amazing how well you've managed, after all, you were on your own for so many years," Ramble continued, winding her fingers through her blonde curls, dislodging several and they came cascading around her shoulders. Draco watched them in an almost mesmerised way as they bounced in a gravity-defying manner, wondering if she had magically enhanced her hair to stay so light and fluffy. Ramble was still leaning closer and closer telling him of his parenting prowess and it is so that Hermione found them. For a moment her eyes narrowed in jealous anger at the door and no one noticed her, but eventually, once Ramble had leant in so close to her husband that they were practically touching, she felt she had to make herself heard.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked loudly and everyone in the room jumped.

"Hermione," Draco exclaimed sounding surprised at his wife's hostile appearance. "What's wrong?"

"Draco!" Hermione complained exasperatedly, but then she noticed their daughter was still present, watching her mother with a surprised and confused expression. "Leshia, sweetheart, maybe it's best if you go to break now," she said trying to sound natural, but failing. Leshia glanced to her father worriedly and he nodded reassuringly, so with a heavy sigh the girl sloped off. As soon as she'd stepped outside the classroom the door slammed shut behind her and the sound of her mother's angry voice wafted out from the crack under the door.

"…Shamelessly flirting…in front of your own daughter…staring at her…not going to put up with this…" Not wanting to hear Leshia sped off and soon found her friends sitting on the steps in the entrance hall. As she arrived most of them burst into raptuous applause, but Katie looked disapproving.

"That was an awful thing to do Leshia," the raven-haired girl told her firmly.

"Oh be quiet spoil sport," Rachel crowed. "It was amazing!"

"She's not a spoil sport," Rodeo countered and for a moment a silence washed over the group, which was soon broken by Leshia clearing her throat uneasily.

"Well, anyway," she continued. "I've just seen my dad and he's okay now I've apologised." Rachel grinned happily.

"Excellent," she said happily. The girls remained in high spirits throughout the day and not even Potions with Professor Snape managed to burst their bubble, though one could argue that the cantankerous potions Master certainly did try – word of Allseyer's untimely fate had hopped on the school's lightning fast gossip grapevine and now everyone in the school was aware of what had happened before break. Every non-Slytherin that Leshia passed grinned encouragingly at her, and Ryan, Oskar and Luka even lifted the girl up and carried her round on their shoulders for a few corridors until they carried her right past her last lesson of the day: History of magic, and she had to beg them to let her down. All in all, it was a fantastically successful afternoon, and soon the girls were filing into their dormitory to discard of their possessions. It was now that Katie chose to remind Leshia of the discovery they had made during Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Leesh, the handwriting," she simply stated and in an instant Leshia's face had fallen and she nodded.

"What handwriting?" Rachel asked with a frown, but Leshia didn't heed her, instead she reached into her satchel and took out the note and the essay she had received back that morning.

"Look," she said sounding almost heartbroken, when she held the pair up next to one another and saw they were almost identical. Katie didn't need to look to see what she had already suspected, but Rachel looked and when she saw what her friends had already discovered she gasped.

"So your dad wrote it?" she asked in amazement. Leshia shrugged her shoulders and packed her things away once more.

"I can't believe that, it just…doesn't make sense," she said softly. "Oh!" she groaned and she flopped back on her bed. "This is getting far too complicated!"

Across the castle Draco echoed his daughter's sentiment, as he pulled the covers over himself in his old bedroom for the first time in many months. He grumbled inwardly about women and their temperamental mood-swings, wondering why he had allowed Hermione to turf him out of their marital chambers and banish him back to his miserable old bedroom beside his study. It didn't seem fair. Hermione was the one with problem, why should he be the one to go?

Their argument had seemed innocent at first, after all Draco hadn't been doing anything terrible, merely watching a woman's unbelievably bouncy hair. It had soon escalated though into a full on brawl when Hermione had accused him of leading Zahra Ramble on, and that he had evidently been doing so for years, that's why she followed him round wherever he went. The young man had been unable to convince his wife otherwise and therefore he was now lying on his lumpy old mattress, trying to find the grove he had once made for himself in it's springy surface.

"Damn women," he grumbled to himself as he rolled over in bed, giving up on any attempts at comfort, and allowed a dreamless sleep to claim him.

XXX

The following morning over breakfast Leshia was oblvious to her parents' forsty treatment of one another and instead became enveloped in a conversation with her friends over how they were going to find out more information on this missing time period. Eventually they concluded that the best possible solution was to write to the Daily Prophet and ask for a couple of issues from the time of the war. The first lesson of the day was Muggle Studies and the girls sloped to the back of the class and managed to go unnoticed enough to write their letter.

_Dear Armand Kettlewater,_ (Katie swore this was the name of the editor of the paper, though it had her friends in stitches – something that nearly got them found out)

_We're students at Hogwarts and we're doing a project on the war for our History of Magic class_ ("I can't believe we're lying," Katie had groaned, very much against the idea of lying to the chief editor of the most respected Wizarding newspaper in the land, but her friends had insisted that this was the most plausible story). _Our library doesn't seem to have any copies of your paper from that time and we were wondering whether you could send us a copy of each first-of-the-month edition for the entire duration of the war_ (this has caused another hot debate, as Katie insisted one per month wasn't enough and Rachel had countered that theyd need an entire flock of post owls to carry more than that). _We're willing to pay of course, just send us the price!_

_Yours sincerely_

_Three grateful Hogwarts Students_

All in all the girls were happy with their letter and as soon as break swung by the posted it from the owlery. Up until lunch the troublesome trio managed to avoid any further trouble, but this was where things went wrong once more. At lunch time the sun decided to bask the grounds of Hogwarts in an unseasonable warmth, which lured all the students out into the grounds to enjoy the good weather. Leshia and her friends were of course amongst the sun seekers and soon the second year Gryffindors were enveloped in a fun game of muggle football. Everyone was having a wonderfully exuberant time; until Leshia went for goal and kicked the ball so hard it bounced down the hill past Hagrid's hut and towards the dark forest.

"I'll go get it," the girl sighed with feigned-exasperation, before she careened after it, unaware that she was being followed. She caught up with the wayward football at the very base of the forest. Wary of what lay therein, she slowed down and carefully approached, watching the forest keenly for signs of movement. Once she had the ball in her hands the girl spun around to race back, but her path was blocked.

"Blood traitor," Allseyer hissed and despite her grave predicament – being surrounded by second and third year Slytherins – Leshia managed to snigger at the boy's pockmarked appearance. Those boil wounds had evidently failed to clear up completely overnight. "I'm happy you found this worth it," the boy snapped indicating his appearance. "Because you're certainly going to pay for it!" With this he took out his wand and Leshia quickly took out her own.

"_Expelliarmus_," she cried out and Allseyer's wand flew from his hand, but there were too many of them and within moments Leshia's wand had been knocked from her hand and the bullies resorted to violence once more – not knowing enough curses and spells to truly punish the girl, and feeling more pleasure from physically hurting her, the Slytherins weren't averse to a little physical exercise. They dragged the struggling girl into the forest, before they started taking turns laying into her. Being a feisty little thing Leshia put up a good fight, but there were just too many of them and for every crippling blow that she delivered, she received at least ten in return. After ten minutes of abuse her body couldn't handle it any more and she fell to her knees.

"Look there," she vaguely heard.

"Run for it!" another voice came, but Leshia wasn't listening. Her assailants ran, and after a few moments in which the girl swayed forward and backwards, trying to focus on staying awake, she saw why. The figure, the figure who's grey cold eyes she had seen following her every move was standing in the darkness beyond.

"You…don't…belong…" it hissed in a high-pitched tone. Leshia felt her skin start to crawl. "You don't belong," the tall figure repeated, before it advanced on the girl. She managed to scramble backwards towards the edge of the forest in her panicked state, the adrenalin in her system forcing her to move despite her inability to consciously make her body do so. The figure was upon her now, and flooded with terror, the ordeal became too great for the girl to handle and the last thing she remembered seeing before a dark sleep claimed her, was a hand, reaching for her.

XXX

"Ow," was all Leshia could manage when she came too. Darkness had fallen since her ordeal had rendered her unconscious and she had spent the remainder of the glorious sunny day in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfry was growing rather tired of seeing her, but she had treated the girl nonetheless; healing her broken bones and mending her damaged skin, all that remained visible of the girl's latest assault was an array of impressive new bruises and cuts… "My head hurts." And a severe headache.

"Feel lucky that's all that's hurting," the strict tone of Madam Pomfry came and Leshia managed to pry her eyes open to find she was in the hospital wing once more. Sat either side of her bed were her parents; both looked on the brink of tears…arguably, Hermione more so than Draco, though the girl's father did look extremely sorry for himself.

"Are you alright?" Hermione whispered, unable to trust herself to speak. Leshia nodded gingerly.

"I'll live," she managed and pulled herself up in the bed.

"This time," Draco muttered darkly. "I'm getting tired of this Leshia," he added.

"Draco," Hermione admonished him, but the young man would not be staved.

"No, this has gone too far," he carried on. "Is it that Allseyer boy Leshia? Tell me!" Leshia looked to him glumly and then closed her eyes, wishing her astoundingly painful headache would give her a moment's rest.

"My head hurts so much," she repeated and a few tears slid out from under her closed eyelids.

"That's because they fractured your skull," Draco told her and he leaned forward wrapping his hands around his daughter's. "You could have died, don't you understand? You can't keep this up baby, they're going to kill you!" His tone had changed; in fact his whole mannerism had turned desperate. Across the bed his wife was crying silently, her shoulders shaking with the emotion of it all. Leshia couldn't bear to see her parents so concerned and yet she began to worry…what if they were right? She needed to get Allseyer back, but was it so important that she was going to risk her life?

"It's not him," she lied through gritted teeth, the pain in her head too immense to string together a long sentence.

"Don't lie to me," Draco ordered, though he sounded desperate still. "I know you Alecia Malfoy, you can't lie to me…Leshia! Leshia!"

"Poppy help!" Hermione called out through her tears, and she leaned forward to see why her daughter had flopped back onto the pillows, her head lolling, her eyes closed.

"Out of the way," Madam Pomfry ordered and she bustled the terrified father aside. After prying Leshia's eyes open and examining her pulse Madam Pomfry concluded she had just passed out again and that it would be best to sedate her and let her sleep through the night. By morning, the potions coursing through her system would have healed her fully and only then would she be ready to talk. The girl's bedraggled parents agreed and watched as Madam Pomfry siphoned a potion down their daughter's throat.

"Draco," Hermione uttered softly, and she met her husband's eye. "I'm so sorry," she cried, her resolve weakening and her shoulders shaking with silent sobs. Within moments Draco had joined her side and had wrapped his arms around her. "I'm so scared," his beloved wife cried into his shoulder.

"I know, I am too," he said softly as he tried to stroke away her tears and pain. "But she'll be okay…"

"This time," Hermione cried. "Like you said, the next time…they'll kill her! I couldn't bare it, I couldn't!"

"Shhh," Draco soothed and for a moment he allowed her to cry her heart out, until eventually she gave one almighty sniff and her tears were gone, the overwhelming emotions were beginning to come under control.

"She'll never tell us," Draco said eventually and Hermione finally let him go and looked him in the eye, before she nodded in agreement.

"I agree."

"So maybe…maybe we should help her."

"Help her get revenge?" Hermione asked sounding shocked. Draco nodded coolly.

"It's the only way sweetheart. If we can help her put an end to this, then there's less chance of them finishing her off, she needs to make them see they can't mess with her. That's the only way to make this stop!"

XXX

The sun had long risen by the time Leshia eventually woke from her dreamless slumber, and the day's lessons were already underway and as such there was no one there to greet Leshia when she eventually opened her eyes. She didn't mind very much, more people meant more questions and she couldn't bear to lie to anyone else. Lying straight to her father's tormented face had been ordeal enough.

"Ah, see you're finally up then, headache gone has it?" Madam Pomfry's voice came before the woman bustled over to her to check her temperature and look over her wounds and injuries, which by now had largely subsided.

"Yes," Leshia replied and she rubbed the sleep from her eyes, feeling sheepish in front of this formidable matron. "Thank you," she said sounding very heart-felt. Madam Pomfry took a moment to give her a concerned expression.

"Your parents are very scared you know," she said. "I don't want to have to see you again, understood?" Leshia nodded quickly.

"I'll try," she promised.

"Right then, well, off you go, you'll do for now." The girl didn't need telling twice and after going back to her dormitory to change – thankfully not meeting any of her older protective housemates on the way, lest they demand once more she tell them who was behind these attacks – and to pick up her things she rushed off to catch the last half hour of Defence Against the Dark Arts. She knocked first for good measure and after Draco had called for her to come in she pushed the door open and found the class in groups of four making 'curse guides' to go up on the display – the highlight of these was the children's artwork of what the effects of their chosen curses were, there were some highly amusing pictures floating around. The moment Draco's eyes fell on his daughter relief flooded over his face and through his whole stature, and he even managed to smile at her.

"Leshia," he exclaimed sounding very pleasantly surprised – after all when he had checked before class Poppy had told him his daughter wouldn't be conscious at least until the evening – when he saw her and his announcement caused everyone to look up. Once more the Gryffindors all instantly burst into applause, so much so that Leshia rushed inside so as they might stop. "You can join your friends," Draco told her and Leshia quickly dropped down on the floor with Katie, Rachel, Rodeo and Parys, who instantly started plaguing her with questions about the attack before she'd even touched the ground.

"Maybe you should give Miss Malfoy a break," Draco suggested to the children, before he motioned to the side with his head. Leshia knew he wanted to talk, so with a sigh she got back to her feet and after smiling reassuringly at her friends, she followed her father to his study through the classroom entrance. Draco left the door open so as he might still see what the others were up to, but his main concern was Leshia.

"I'm sorry if I stressed you out last night," he told her as he leant against his desk. Leshia though, shook her head very rigorously.

"I'm sorry if I stressed _you_ out," she countered, before walking over to him and hugging him firmly. Draco returned her hug firmly. "I'm sorry I can't tell you anything dad, but I thought you'd understand."

"I do," her father replied and he kissed the top of her head. "From now on, whatever you need to do…well…I won't stand in your way." Leshia furrowed her brow and stepped backwards, looking up at her father in surprise. Was he saying what she thought he was saying? "I want you to end this," he said firmly. Leshia nodded fervently.

"I do too!"

"Well good," Draco said and he reached out and flattened her wild hair. "Just a few helpful pointers though, no more wandering around on your own?" Leshia giggled and nodded.

"Agreed," she said fondly before she hugged her father one more time, and then rushed back to her group to see what they were doing, it had looked very fun. As she sat down she found Allseyer watching her darkly, his expression a mixture of worry that she had grassed and malice that she was still standing. Leshia met his eye and a smile crept onto her face.

'I've just got permission to sort you out Allseyer, if I were you; I would wipe that stupid smug smile off my face. You've got it coming,' the girl thought to herself, before she was enlisted to draw a boy being cursed with the Boils curse. After rolling about with laughter she agreed and half an hour later their 'curse guide' came complete with a moving drawing of Damian Allseyer getting cursed with ugly great big boils. Everyone was laughing so hard they all forgot about the frightening events of the previous day when Leshia's bloody body had been carried out of the forest by Hagrid, who had responded to a strange red flare going up into the air from her wand, which had been found five yards from her body…how very peculiar.

XXX

Slowly the weeks crept by, and bit by bit Leshia managed to push Allseyer from her mind, they had more serious things to tend to, like why had Viktor Krum refused to reply (despite their sending three more letters), why were the Daily Prophet unable to supply them with the papers they needed and who had written the mysterious note about Lucius. Katie's birthday came and went and soon Halloween was nearly upon them. The girls hadn't given the festivities a second thought, as they were still trying to conjure up ways to get these elusive newspapers from the Prophet, when suddenly Sarah and Amy dropped down opposite them at breakfast a week before Halloween, which once more would be the night of a fourth years and over ball to be held in the great hall.

"So, what's the plan this year?" Sarah asked.

"Excuse me?" Rachel asked with a furrowed brow.

"Yeah, what plan?" Katie added sounding confused. Amy gave the girls a broad smile.

"Very funny, we know you're planning something for Halloween, I can't wait!"

"Yeah, I bet it'll be way better than last year," Sarah added and with this the two cousins sloped off to go their Divination lesson. After their backs had turned the girls looked to one another in surprised horror.

"They're expecting a bigger bash than last year?" Rachel finally uttered.

"It's not doable," Leshia managed. "Last year was immense!"

"Yeah, and why do we have to plan something anyway?" Katie added in a disgruntled way. Deciding that they would ignore Sarah and Amy the girls went about their daily business, but as the day wore on they noticed people were nudging one another as they walked past and whispers about 'wild parties' and 'Halloween bashes' were flying around above their heads. The final straw came when the Wood twins from the year below approached them at dinner wondering if they would be allowed to help with the festivities.

"Okay so we are the party planners evidently," Leshia told her friends in a resigned way.

"Lousy upper years, making us do everything," Rachel grumbled. "And I bet that they've all invited half the out hoursers too! This is just mental!"

"Well what are we going to do? Like you said Leesh, last year was immense!" Katie said sounding concerned. All through dinner the girls schemed, delegating simple tasks like decoration and numbers to their friends, who were more than eager to help out. It was long after dinner when the girls were trying to finish their Potions essays for their lesson the following day that Leshia got her epiphany.

"Celebrities," she whispered suddenly to herself.

"That's you last ingredient?" Katie asked sceptically. "I don't think celebrities will bring out the red…"

"No," Leshia complained and she flung her essay aside, instead taking out a notepad and dipping her quill once more in the ink, ready to write their list. "What would make our party legendary?" Her friends glanced to one another and shrugged, they had been trying to think of this all evening. "Having a few celebrities there would probably do the trick don't you think?" Both Rachel and Katie's eyes boggled widely for a moment, before their faces split into huge identical grins.

"That…is…the…most…brilliant…idea…you…have…ever…had," Rachel exclaimed slowly and purposefully.

"Yeah, but who would we invite?" Katie asked anxiously.

"We know tons of celebrities," Leshia countered. "The Cauldron Chicks for one, I can think of a dozen ways to get them to come out here, all to do with my dad to be fair, but still, as long as they come."

"And I bet we can get a whole load of quidditch players, what with the Wood twins and Krum if he ever picks up a quill and replies," Rachel added jubilantly.

"And we know Mr Longbottom, I bet he'd love to come and do some publicity for his next book," Leshia added. Neville Longbottom had made arguably the most success of all once he had left Hogwarts. He had met a lovely muggle and settled down, and soon found he had a passion for writing. Within no time _Daisy Dunce_ _the magnificent muggle_ had come to life, and her exciting adventures without the aid of magic had enraptured wizarding children's imaginations all over the world. His next book _Daisy Dunce and the Haunted House _was due out the following summer, so the girls' estimation that he would be looking for publicity wasn't all that unfounded.

"Actually, we do know loads of people don't we?" Katie finally said with a broad smile and so Leshia wrote down their list of possible contenders. If they could get even half these guests their party would go down in the history of Hogwarts.

XXX

_Dear Viktor Krum,_

_You know, you don't have to tell me anything, but it would be polite if you could at least reply for goodness sake! I doubt you'll care, but you're invited to be a guest of honour at the biggest Gryffindor party ever on Halloween. You'd make a hundred kids exceedingly happy if you can make it. I promise I'll stop pestering you if you promise to consider it!_

_Yours Sincerely_

_Leshia_

XXX

_Dear Mss Parkinson,_

_It's Leshia Malfoy, remember me? You were hitting on my dad at the World Cup? I'm inviting you and the band to be a guest of honour at Gryffindor's biggest ever party on Halloween. You'd be able to meet your fans and spread your publicity and...if you come, I'll get you ten minutes alone with my dad, how does that sound?_

_Yours Sincerely_

_Leshia Malfoy_

XXX

_Dear Neville,_

_Hi! It's Katie, Rachel and Leshia, your favourite goddaughters! We were wondering whether you would be able to come to our party on Halloween, you'd be the guest of honour. I know lots of kids who'd love to hear more about your new book. We'd be eternally grateful Neville!_

_With love from your favourite girls :)_

_Katie, Rachel and Leshia_

XXX

By the time Monday morning drew by, only five days left before their big operation, and they hadn't heard from any of their celebrities. Feeling panicked that nothing was going to work out right the girls started to prepare for the eventuality that maybe they weren't going to be able to throw as legendary a party as they had hoped. The days drew on and the girls went ahead as normal; arranging decorations, seating, and planning a brand new food heist, with one added advantage over last year: they would get the Elves to deliver the food instead of trying to navigate huge bursting burlap bags of food through the castle like they had the previous year.

It was the Cauldron Chicks who were the first to confirm that yes, they would love to come back to school and do an underground gig. Not only did they think the publicity was priceless, but it would seem Pansy Parkinson was expecting Leshia to keep up with her end of the bargain. Leshia didn't mind very much, the Cauldron Chicks had been their chance card, the one they desperately wanted to get.

The following morning on Thursday, the day of the food heist, or rather, the day that the girls intended to venture down to the kitchens to place their order with the elves, Neville Longbottom confirmed he would love to come and also Fred and George Weasley wrote a letter saying that even though they were uninvited, they would be putting in an appearance with their fun-filled merchandise.

Later that day the girls had secretly relished in Amy and Sarah's discomfort at knowing their fathers would be at the party – that would serve them right for expecting an amazing party, yet doing little to earn it. A few of Jaime and Eliot's contacts panned out and they managed to get (though the girls weren't entirely sure how they'd blagged it) Joanne Tayler, the star seeker of the England squad. All in all, their line-up was rather fantastic and that evening their confidence gave them the extra oomph they needed to get them safely to the kitchens. They tickled the pear and were soon granted access to the kitchens were dozens of houselves greeted them eagerly.

"Why, it's Master Harry Potter's daughter!" a familiar voice called out from the head of the kitchens and within moments Dobby's telltale appearance had pushed through the crowds to stand before the three girls.

"Hello Dobby," the girls greeted the little houself with sheepish smiles.

"Has Miss Potter come for some food, yes?" Dobby asked eagerly and as if on cue, several treats were instantly thrust in the direction of the girls.

"Oh, don't mind if I do," Rachel said cheerfully and she took one of the pastries, while Leshia sniggered at her; not so long ago over dinner her red-haired friend had been groaning of a bursting stomach.

"Actually Dobby, we had a favour to ask you," Katie said kindly, though her kindness was not needed as at the sound of the word favour Dobby started bouncing up and down eagerly, gleeful that he was able to help Harry Potter's daughter.

"Anything Miss Potter, anything," he exclaimed jubilantly. Katie looked to her friends slightly guiltily, was it right to take advantage of this poor thing's good nature? Leshia though furrowed her brow and nodded quickly, while Rachel was too preoccupied with her treats to notice.

"Well you see, we're having a sort of party in Gryffindor common room tomorrow, you know, because we're not allowed to go to the fourth years and over ball," Katie explained quickly. "Well, we were wondering whether or not, if we gave you a list, whether…" she trailed off, unable to ask it of the dear little creature.

"We were wondering if you could make us the food and deliver it to the common room," Leshia finished for her friend giving her a 'go on' expression while rolling her hands in a rolling motion.

"Yes," Katie said firmly, turning on Dobby to see that he looked far from miserable, in fact, he and the rest of the elves looked entirely happy to be of use to the girls. Without asking Dobby snatched the list from Katie's hand and looked down it, his expression growing ever more jubilant.

"Dobby would be honoured Miss Katie Potter," he said and he bowed so deeply his long nose touched the floor; he hadn't even noticed.

"Thank you ever so much Dobby," the dark-haired girl gushed. "That is so kind of you…"

"Miss Leshia!" The girls froze and slowly turned around to find that Tally, the Malfoy's venerable houself had crept up on them and was now looking at her master's daughter with a look of extreme reprove; it was a look Leshia had come to know well over the years.

"Tally!" Leshia cried out, realising now that last year they had had to distract her with a mountain of repair work in order to make sure she wouldn't catch them as surely she would alert Draco to their whereabouts. "I can explain…" But it would seem the elf didn't want an explanation as with a crack she disappeared into thin air.

"Time to go," Leshia told the others and she grappled at Katie's father's invisibility cloak, trying to unfold it so as to cover the three girls on their journey back to their common room.

"Thank you again Dobby, you're too kind," Katie assured the houself, before the other two threw the cloak over her and shielded her from view. They whispered their goodbyes before pushing the painting open and creeping into the corridor beyond where they were terrified Draco would now be prowling. Tally had not failed and the girls had only made it down two corridors when suddenly a figure with telltale confident stride paced into view.

"Shuffle," Leshia whispered to the others hoarsely and the three girls shuffled ever so silently to the side of the corridor, hoping against hope that Draco would pass them by. They cleared their minds of all thoughts, as it was pretty clear now that Draco was a talented legilimens – a mind reader – and he had been able to sense them in the past due to their mischievous thoughts. It seemed now that the young man was able to sense something also and he slowed down before he reached the girls, looking straight at them with narrowed eyes, obviously trying to decide whether there was anyone there. The girls, in a moment of panic, managed to clear their minds as they were too frightened to think of anything, and eventually Draco raised his head once more and carried on pacing. The girls waited for his footsteps to wane away, before they dared to breath and make their way slowly back to their dormitory. Ass they reached the Fat Lady's portrait the girl's exchanged a happy look – they had made it – before they threw off the cloak.

"Rat droppings," Rachel announced proudly and the portrait begrudgingly swung forward.

"Hold it right there," a voice came from the shadows behind them, and all three girls froze, before slowly turning round to face the dreaded Potions master.

"Professor Snape," Leshia uttered in surprise and she glanced to her friends apologetically, this wasn't meant to happen.

"With you track record of getting yourself into nasty incidents it seems highly foolish to be wandering the corridors of the castle at night don't you think Miss Malfoy?" Snape exclaimed haughtily. Leshia fought the urge to talk back to the professor, but she knew she had to try and worm out of this somehow.

"Yes sir," she said softly and she nodded.

"What are you doing up at this time?" Snape asked suspiciously. "I hear you've been down to the kitchens. Feeling a little peckish were you?" The girls quickly nodded and Rachel held forward a fruit pie she had taken alone as evidence to the fact. Snape scowled at her.

"Put it away you greedy child," he complained angrily and Rachel instantly complied sheepishly. Snape seemed to ruffle himself up, evidently preparing himself to punish the children for their misbehaviour, but he never got the chance as the fast paced footsteps of Draco announced the young man's arrival.

"Severus," he called to his friend, before he arrived on the scene and stood between the children and the potions master. "Thank you, I can take it from here." Snape looked highly reluctant to give up his control over the situation.

"Are you certain?" he asked warningly and Draco replied with an equally as warning expression on his handsome face. Feeling entirely put out that he was to go without three extra helpers – he had been all set on placing the girls in detention before Draco had shown up – the cantankerous potions master stalked off leaving Draco looking at the girls in a bemused way.

"Don't let Tally find you in the kitchens again," he warned them, before he nodded to them, giving them permission to rush back to their dormitory. "Goodnight girls," he told them softly and while Katie and Rachel scarpered, not needing to be told twice, Leshia lunged forward and wrapped her arms around her father's neck.

"Thanks dad." Draco returned her hug firmly. "Why aren't you going mental at us?" she whispered. To her surprise, her father started laughing genially and he pulled away from his daughter with a smile on his face.

"Because…I'm proud of you." With this he gave her one last charming smile before walking back down the corridor. Feeling a little concerned that her father was coming down with something, Leshia was about to head after him, but it would seem the Fat Lady had other ideas.

"Am I to hang around all night?" the portrait demanded, eking the doorway closed a little. Leshia turned around quickly and gave the painting a quizzical look.

"But you're a painting, surely that's all you _can_ do," she told it cockily. The Fat Lady was not amused and after a highly putout sound she started to close, ensuring Leshia had to dive for safety; she only just made it.

XXX

The following day the eve of the party had arrived and nothing could detract from the excitement of the Gryffindors and their lower out-hoursers. During breakfast practically half of the student body had come over to personally tell Leshia and her friends how grateful they were to be invited and this had the effect of putting the three girls in exceedingly good moods. So much so, that Rachel actually managed to bring herself to consider her little sister, who as yet had not replied to their invitation.

"I wonder why she hasn't replied," she said softly, feeling hurt, though she couldn't explain why.

"Maybe the Slytherins are planning something of their own," Katie suggested tactfully. At this Leshia snorted and shook her head, earning her a severe look of reprove from the raven-haired girl.

"They don't have the combined intelligence to pull off normal conversation, what makes you think they can organise a whole party? I mean…" For a moment Leshia faltered, and pulled back a little with a cautious expression on her face. The reason for this being Katie, who at this moment was glowing red and looked as though she was about to explode. Unaccustomed to the young girl curbing what she was allowed to say, Leshia continued. "Anyway, what I meant was, no, I doubt i_ouw_! What did you do that for?" the girl demanded as she rubbed her sore foot, which Katie had just delivered a crippling blow to.

"Well maybe she told one of the others she was coming," Katie tried falsely, shooting Leshia daggers across the table. Rachel though was looking slightly incredulous, yet also, so very amused by what was going on. Leshia may not have seen the warning signs on Katie's face, but Rachel certainly had. She'd been at the receiving end of Katie's foot far too many times.

"Look, she's just not coming," Rachel sighed. "I guess she's just too much of a Slytherin to bother." With this she got to her feet and headed off to the toilets before their first lesson, and the moment she had walked a few feet away Leshia spun round on Katie with a dark expression.

"Who made you the talk police?" she demanded.

"Honestly," Katie grumbled raising her hands to the sky. "The pair of you are about as tactful as two rhinoceroses." Leshia pulled back highly disgruntled.

"Rachel's a big girl Katie, you don't have to walk around on egg shells."

"No, but a little discretion might go a long way Leshia, just grow up a little!" With this Katie got to her feet and flounced out, leaving Leshia fuming. How dare she tell her to grow up? Fair enough, Leshia may not have shot up and turned into a young woman over the summer, but why did that have to mean she was suddenly inferior and childish?

"You okay Leesh?" The girl looked up quickly and found Rodeo watching her concernedly.

"Why do girls have to be so complicated?" The boy grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

"Fact of life I'm afraid," he replied charmingly. "Come on, we'll be late for Care of Magical Creatures."

XXX

Throughout Hagrid's lesson the three girls were decidedly less jubilant than their peers. Whereas everyone else was ecstatic about the party, the troublesome trio were in all manner of sorts. Rachel was lamenting her sister's Slytheriness, and the other two couldn't look at one another without shooting glares at one another. Their moods though, were about to abruptly change as a small owl circled the class before singling out Leshia and diving at her. The girl threw her hands up to protect herself, but a winged attack never came and after she had dared to open her eyes she found Katie holding her arm out, while she tickled the small owl that was balanced on it with her other hand.

"Here, that's a letter for you Leesh," Rachel exclaimed and after giving the small owl a reproachful look, Leshia took the letter and read it silently, her jaw dropping a little with each new sentence she read, until she got to the very end and closed her mouth promptly with wide eyes. In an instant her friends had snatched it from her and started reading:

_Dear Leshia,_

_Yes I vould like to com to your party. I am in Hogsmeade anyvay becos I do interview for newspaper Prophet. I feel ve must tolk yes? I do not vish to meet your father, I com in secret. I vill be there at ten._

_Viktor Krum_

_PS My friend Lukas he com too, I think you do not mind yes?_

"Oh my God," Rachel exclaimed slowly, before she looked up at Leshia in jubilant surprise. "Krum _and_ Krosovitch! Brilliant!" Leshia though, had gone a funny shade of red and couldn't bring herself to speak. There was too much to take in: three world famous international quidditch players would be attending their party, she was going to have to speak to Lukas again, and finally she would be getting some information on her parents' secretive past.

"You know, he writes like you Rach, he can't manage '_w_'s either," she finally managed through a smirk, and then covered her head once more with her hands as Rachel glowed red and started to attack her with her textbook. Suffice to say, after this, the children were in much better spirits.

XXX

As the day wore on the girls remained in high sorts, and they even started conducting a plan to keep the Bulgarians from the English seeker should there be any problems, thought they didn't think there would be. Amazed with their guest list the girls finally felt that they had done it, they had topped last year's performance by about a hundred percent. How the teachers remained oblivious to their plans was beside them, as every lower year they passed in the corridors was talking loudly about meeting the Cauldron Chicks, or getting Neville to sign their copy of _Daisy Dunce_.

"Ugh," Rachel exclaimed dramatically as they lined up outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom for their last lesson of the day. Little Annie Weasley in Ravenclaw had just ran past with her friends practically shouting about how happy she was to be meeting Joanne Tayler, not even noticing her cousins standing in the queue beside the classroom. "If that lot don't shut their mouths there's not even going to be a party! I mean what would we do if the teachers found out?"

"Deny it," Leshia replied with a grin.

"Yeah like they'd believe us," the redhead grumbled and she angrily scuffed her shoe on the floor. For the first time in…well…as long as Leshia could remember, Damian Allseyer had no smart-alecky remark to make as he and his crowd of aesthetically challenged henchmen joined the queue.

"Alright there Allseyer?" she called to him cheerfully. He scowled, but kept his mouth shut, it was a challenge Leshia couldn't resist. "What will you lot be doing tonight?"

"Stuffing themselves at the feast and then going home to a lonely common room I suspect," Rachel snorted and she and Leshia started laughing at the furious Slytherins. Katie, ever the wisest one of the group, didn't think that winding the Slytherins up was possibly the best idea considering they wanted to remain below teacher-radar for the foreseeable future. Under the circumstances, Allseyer managed to control his fury quite well, and eventually Leshia and Rachel got bored of taunting him in time for Draco to walk up to the group of students and inspect their shirts. The class seemed to be getting better at dressing themselves and everyone was presentable, so he pushed the door open, allowing everyone to walk past him to their seats. Once everyone was seated a hand went up at the back of the classroom.

"Yes Mr Allseyer?" Draco asked as he leant against his desk at the front of the classroom. Nineteen curious faces swivelled round to stare at Allseyer, who was looking smug with himself. Instantly Leshia and Rachel started regretting their pre-class entertainment in the corridor.

"Sir, what would you do if you knew about these students who were breaking at least a hundred school rules?" the boy asked with a small satisfied smile on his face.

"Do you?" Draco asked curiously, and he waited while the boy at the back of the class nodded slowly. "Well go on then, we haven't got all day," Draco urged. Allseyer briefly glanced to Leshia, who was glaring at him through eyes so narrowed that she could barely see, before he looked back to Draco.

"The Gryffindors are throwing a party tonight and they're bringing in people from outside of the school and probably stealing a whole load of food from the kitchens too, they did last year!" Those nineteen same faces spun around to look at Draco who was frowning.

"Yes I know," he said eventually. "As far as I'm aware, the headmaster has given them permission. So if you have nothing else to say, let's get on with the lesson shall we?" Leshia spun around just in time to catch the look of outrage and surprise on her arch-enemy's face and she wished she would have had a camera to catch the moment on film. The Slytherins in the class had never looked so indignant as they did at this moment, and after taking in Draco's response, Allseyer looked to Leshia furiously, but the girl was smiling at him darkly.

"Grass," she mouthed and her smile grew into a lopsided grin. She continued to watch the boy while the consequences of his actions sunk in, before she turned around beaming happily at the back of her father's head, wondering if there was any truth to his words.

The lesson dragged by, as everyone was eager to be let go so they could go and change for the party, or in Leshia and her friends' cases, so they could go and prepare the common room. Draco tried to bear with their excitement, but he was getting angry with the constant whispering that broke out every time his back was turned. After giving five individual children detention, he gave up and issued a class wide detention to take place at the weekend. The Gryffindors didn't seem to mind too much, but as far as the Slytherins went, this was like rubbing salt into their already painful wound. Finally half three crawled by and the bell signifying the end of lessons rang out and after Draco merely waved his hand angrily at the class they leapt to their feet and scarpered. Only Leshia, Katie and Rachel remained behind.

"What do you lot want?" Draco asked them tetchily, evidently not impressed that their antics were causing him so much unnecessary heartache.

"Is it true?" Leshia asked.

"Is what true?"

"You know, what you told Allseyer?" Draco sighed heavily and started to wipe down the blackboard. "Dad?"

"In a manner of speaking," Draco eventually replied. "I used the word permission _extremely_ loosely." The girls' eyes went wide in surprise and joy as the fear of getting into the trouble flew out of their heads and made them feel giddy. "A word of advice," Draco continued and now he turned round, leaning on the back of his chair with a somewhat serious expression on is face. "If you want to keep something a secret, don't go telling half the school what you're planning. We found out about ten seconds after the student body did, lucky for you Albus was quite excited about meeting Joanne Tayler so he's turning a blind eye to your party, just this once!"

"He's coming?" Leshia asked in surprise. Draco smiled amusedly.

"He said he was going to drop by, as are half the teachers I'd imagine." The girls were so horrified that for a moment Draco felt a little better that they had caused the children of the school to regress into a hyper active mass of chatterboxes all day. "Go on, get out, I bet you've got a mountain of stuff to organise." The girls jumped to their feet and whereas Katie and Rachel rushed out, Leshia stayed behind.

"Were you serious?" she asked him worriedly and she cringed when her father nodded slowly.

"I wouldn't go planning anything for the weekends to come Leesh, he's going to have words with you tomorrow," he said slightly sympathetically. Leshia nodded and felt a little humbled, and humiliated that she hadn't thought the teachers knew. Of course they knew, everyone knew. Her father had been right, they should have played the whole ting down.

"What would you do?" she asked him eventually. Draco breathed in slowly while he furrowed his brow in thought.

"I'd go out there, do what I had to do and be remembered as the girl who flouted every single school rule to throw Hogwarts' best ever party," he replied eventually and then smiled proudly at his daughter. "I meant what I said. I am very proud of you!"

XXX

The rest of the afternoon went by in a flurry of activity. There were decorations to be hung, furniture to be moved, and food to be arranged. With the severely increased guest list from last year, the girls had to employ the use of all lower year dormitories but one. Being the organisers of the event Leshia and her friends claimed their dormitory was off limits, but they did help the others move any personal possessions they didn't want damaged into their dormitory. To make sure that it and the other non-party dormitories remained off-limits Headgirl Julia Walling placed spells on the doors, which ensured that you would need a password to enter them.

Several of their guests of honour seemed to require special arrangements. Fred and George Weasley wanted to set up a stall so as they could demonstrate (and hopefully sell) some of their new inventions. So the girls dedicated second year boys' dormitory to them – per request by Rodeo and Parys, who were immense fans of the wizarding geniuses. Neville Longbottom would undoubtedly need some table or other as half the invitees were bringing copies of his book to sign. The girls dedicated the first year girls' dormitory to him and set up one of the armchairs behind a small table. Lastly, the Cauldron Chicks were going to need a performing area, which the girls set up in front of the fireplace in the common room. In order to keep the common room available for the most people, they set up the refreshments tables in the third year girls' dormitory and then spent an hour helping the elves arrange everything. There were whole crates of butterbeer and pumpkin juice, mountains of pastries and Halloween style cakes, hundreds of sugared apples, and bags full of sweets. The girls gleefully realised that there would be plenty to spare to feast on for the forthcoming weeks.

Finally the place was ready, and everyone rushed off to change with only half an hour before dinner. Everybody would be arriving shortly afterwards.

"Which top do you think is the nicest?" Katie asked her friends as she held up two surprisingly skimpy numbers. Rachel burst out laughing, but Leshia felt a little disgruntled and embarrassed once more over her childlike body.

"Katie, you can't wear either, you'd look like a tart!" Rachel laughed, and Leshia tried to half-heartedly join in.

"Oh give over Rachel I'm _thirteen_," Katie grumbled.

"So?" Rachel crowed happily and she pointed to Leshia, who was in the middle of doing up her belt; she had opted for black trousers and a loose fitting top, nothing too fancy, and nothing that would accentuate the fact that she was still developmentally-challenged. "See, that's how you're supposed to dress when you're thirteen."

"Oh shut up," Leshia grumbled and she shut herself in her bed to readdress her clothing situation.

"Leshia's isn't thirteen yet, so there's no comparison," Katie said airily, before she opted for a less revealing top and went to change. Eventually everyone was happy with what they were wearing and they rushed down with a throng of similarly dressed youngsters to the main hall to have brief dinner before it was turned over to the fourth years and over for their dance. Nobody seemed to eat much for fear of turning up to either event bloated and the houselves noted that they had never had so much food returned to them once all the plates reappeared down in the kitchens. Everyone was turning to leave, when to their utmost surprise Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet, evidently to make some sort of announcement.

"Uh oh," Leshia managed softly.

"Dear students," the aged headmaster called out. "I just wanted to wish you joy on this Hallows eve." His eyes twinkled briefly in the direction of Leshia and her friends. "I understand that there will be lots going on, but please, be wary of anything unusual. It is when we are at the height of enjoyment that we become most vulnerable. Please, do not become complacent, but do, have the very best of fun." With this he returned to his seat, leaving most of the students looking to one another in confusion…what on earth did that mean?

The thought was pushed from their minds as everybody rushed back to their common rooms to await eight-o clock so as they could either storm the great hall or the Gryffindor common room, depending on which year you were in. As the Gryffindors arrived at the Fat Lady there was a surprise…or rather, several surprises waiting for them.

"We tried to tell her we used to be in this house, but she wouldn't listen," Fred Weasley announced when he saw the first trickle of Gryffindors coming up the corridor. Hearing their uncle Rachel and Katie pushed ahead to the head of the group.

"Uncle Fred, Uncle George!" the cried cheerfully and rushed forward to embrace them. Leshia's attention was drawn to the disgruntled looking Cauldron Chicks, who looked very unhappy at being made to wait, and then to Joanne Tayler, who was engaged in an exuberant conversation with Neville Longbottom over Daisy's next adventure – the young seeker had in fact been a closet Daisy Dunce fan for many a year.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting," she told everyone and quickly uttered the password ensuring the Fat Lady finally swung open and allowed everyone in. The Cauldron Chicks were quick to set up their instruments, as were Fred and George in setting up their stall – with the help of Sarah and Amy, who despite being embarrassed at the fact that their fathers were at their party, were still rather happy to see them. Neville seemed very grateful for the fact that he would get somewhere cosy to sit while the children harangued him for signatures and Joanne Tayler was most happy to keep him company until they did.

All in all, everything was turning out splendidly. Slowly the clock trailed round to eight and with a heavy sigh of trepidation Leshia and her friends headed for the door to see if anyone had come yet. As soon as they neared it they could hear the chatter of anxious partygoers, eager to be let in and the girls felt their stomachs flutter nervously.

"Here's to us," Rachel said softly and she raised the bottle of Butterbeer she held in her hand. Leshia and Katie grinned at her and lifted their drinks to hers.

"To us."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

End of PART III

**Author's Note:** The relationship between Ryan and Leshia is not to be construed as anything other than a brother/sister like relationship. I hope this comes across, but to some readers who might not pick up on it, really, nothing is going to happen between them, he's too old for her. I see my older brothers reflected in him, that's who I'm basing this character on.

**Replies to some reviewers' questions:**

**SexyDraco04**: It is my plan to eventually do seven stories about the girls' progression through school

**FanFicFanatick: **Thank you for your detailed advice. I've taken some of it into consideration I hope you noticed :) particularly where Hermione is concerned. I do not enjoy mixing writing styles directly i.e. mixing first person (POV) with third person. I've tried to include a few perspectives with letter writing, but I do intend for the narrative and the dialogue to put across the feelings and thoughts of my characters without the need to spell it out

**rbt1980**: They're all girls because I felt this dynamic worked with the personalities that I had thought up. Besides, I don't want to make a carbon copy of JK Rowling's works, otherwise I would have written a story with her cannon trio at the helm. In this story Leshia's assailants are not quite magically gifted enough to inflict true dangerous spells on her, so yes, they did just beat her up. And lastly, 'Leshia: Rebel without a Cause' is a standalone story, it is not part of the Generations series. I know she has the same name and is a similar character, but that is a different story that I've abandoned because it didn't generate any interest. If it's confusing, maybe I should take it down.

**XLadyProngsX: **Leshia is pronounced Leesh-uh (Leesh as in a leash, American for lead am I correct?). It's an abbreviation for Alecia that I made up because I like the sound of it – although for all I know it could be a real name, though I've never encountered it

**To everyone else: **Thank you very much for your reviews, that's why I'm posting for you! Thank you very much :)

Final note, sorry it's taking me long to update, but I've been under pressure at uni. Have to hand my dissertation in on Friday / Also, may not be able to post fourth chapter any time soon because I have exams in January and they're my finals, so I have to study study study! Thank you for your support, your reviews make me smile :)

_Update 15/12/05 – Woooooooo! Just finished disseration, yay! Anyway, just a heads up for you guys to go check out my profile page if you wanna see pictures of Leshia and Draco as well as some family trees, some school timetables and also my favourite – Leshia and her friends' doodlings. I know, it's sad, but I love doing stuff like that on the computer. _

_Also, chapter four is five pages away from being complete, which means that it'll be up on Saturday, but only if people want it. I mean come on:) make me happy! Please?_


	4. Part Four

**Generations: Tales of the Last Stand**

**Part IV**

After they had each swigged at their bottles they headed for the portrait and swung it open. As one, at least a hundred heads swivelled round to see who had come to greet them, and as she was feeling a little mischievous Leshia gave them a very confused frown.

"What are all you lot doing here?" she asked them in confusion. Rachel instantly caught onto the joke and adopted a similarly flummoxed expression.

"What are you talking about, we're here for the party?" a third year girl from Ravenclaw, who had arrived almost as soon as dinner had finished with her friends, exclaimed sounding putout, though a look of doubt did cross her face.

"Party?" Rachel asked in amazement.

"What party?" Leshia added sounding extremely confused.

"Oh wait, I think I know," Rachel countered and she turned to Leshia with a 'don't you remember?' expression. "That's being held up the corridor, next door on your left."

"Oohhh, yeah that party," Leshia agreed and in response dozens of faces turned to look up the corridor in surprise. "Sorry, you've got the wrong door." Several people started to walk up the corridor and the girls had to severely control themselves, to stop from bursting into laughter. At this moment the Cauldron Chicks suddenly burst into a rendition of their song 'Another pinch of Love should do it', and the girls at the front of the queue who had been looking tempted to go inspect this mystery venue suddenly turned on the girls at the portrait hole.

"Oh really, so what's that?" the lead girl asked with a small smile, realising they were being had.

"What's what?" Leshia asked with a frown. "Rach, do you hear anything?"

"Oh give over, let them in," Katie complained fondly causing several of the guests to start laughing, especially when Leshia and Rachel started cracking up, their jubilation was contagious. Finally the girls stepped aside and welcomed people in. The expressions of surprise and joy wafting out from the common to the portrait hole let the girls know that already their party was a huge success.

It wasn't long before the first of the relatives appeared, and it was little Annie Weasley accompanied by her gaggle of friends. She beamed at her cousins, and then even embraced Leshia around the neck firmly.

"Thank you so much Leesh! You've always been the coolest girl I know!" she expressed gleefully, before she followed her friends in to cheer for the band, who already had a large following swaying in tune to the music. Eventually the girls delegated the greeting task to Amy and Sarah so as they could enjoy the party they had brought into existence. Everywhere beaming faces greeted them, and for the moment the girls enjoyed a similar status of celebrity to the real celebrities they had invited.

Inevitably Katie instantly drifted over to the band and pushed her way to the front where Nicola and Ashley were dancing madly to the music. Leshia and Rachel rolled their eyes at one another and decided to get themselves another drink and go and check on what Fred and George Weasley were up to. It would seem their trip was worth it, as in the second year boys dormitories the twins had drawn quite a crowd of eager boys, who at the moment Leshia and Rachel chose to enter, were busy demonstrating their new 'Sparkling Sweets', part of their 'Celebration Selection'. The effect this particular sweet had on a person's body was to make it glow with some invisible light source and emit a wild halo of sparkles around their body. The effect it had on Tom, the tester of this particular sweet, was astounding. The boy looked like a living sparkler.

"Here we are, the ladies of the hour have arrived," Fred cheered when the girls walked in and at this Leshia and Rachel were cajoled to the front of the crowd and presented before the twins, who were smiling at them with charming smiles.

"For you two, we have something special in mind," George told them and he took out two pink marble like sweets. They were entirely clear and resembled the secret stash of Heaven Drops the girls still had hidden under Katie's mattress. Leshia could have sworn she saw a little aura of pink rays around the sweet.

"Love Lozenges," Fred told them and he placed the two sweets into their hands. "Exceedingly hard and expensive to make, but there's no more deserving testers than yourselves, go on, try them."

"What do they do?" Leshia asked cautiously, unsure about the name.

"Try it and we'll tell you," George urged fondly and after casting one another unsure glances the two friends eventually conceded. Instantly all the boys in the room stepped backwards from them, some blushing furiously. Rodeo and Parys were on the edge of Rodeo's bed – their makeshift seat – almost ready to topple off.

"Uncle George," Rachel warned sounding unimpressed, but the twins seemed thrilled with the consequences.

"What do they do?" Leshia demanded.

"Love Potion technically," Fred replied cheekily. "Except the effects target every eligible person in the vicinity."

"And what do you mean by eligible?" Rachel asked feeling concerned by the number of hungry glances she was receiving from their peers.

"Well, the sort that would normally fall for you ladies," George replied. "You know, opposite gender…"

"Round about the same age…"

"Usually available…"

"But not necessary," Fred finished cheerfully. "Don't worry," he added when he saw the look of despair pass between the girls – this was the last thing they wanted. "The effects are only temporary."

"How temporary?" Leshia asked urgently, noting that Rodeo and Parys were on their feet and clambering to get to the front of the crowd.

"Oh only ten minutes or so," George chuckled and the twins burst out laughing when the girls quickly scarpered for the door, seeing as Rodeo and Parys had now freed themselves from the gaggle of boys. By the time the pursuers reached the stairwell however, the girls had escaped into the throng of people and headed straight for the gaggle of girls to escape any more suitors.

"Let's not go back in there, agreed?" Leshia told her friend firmly and she sighed in relief. Rachel nodded fervently.

"God, those are dangerous sweets! I'd hate to think of myself as out of control like that, I mean what if Smelly Henry from Hufflepuff took one of those, ugh, perish the thought!" Leshia started laughing so wildly at the thought of the unfortunate looking (and smelling) boy from Hufflepuff, that the thought of those hungry-looking boys was pushed from her mind.

For an hour the guests kept streaming in and soon all the rooms dedicated to the party were bursting with jubilant partygoers. Neville was signing a record number of books, the Cauldron Chicks kept drawing more fans into their already bursting fan base, and the Weasley twins had shifted more merchandise than they would in a week in London. Joanne Tayler had not left Neville's side all evening and the pair seemed to be getting closer and closer as the evening progressed, which was convenient as most of the children who recognised the England seeker instantly asked for her autograph as well.

Without so much as a grand entrance one moment the headmaster appeared amongst the vibrant student body with glass of Pumpkin juice in hand, chatting cheerfully to Professor McGonagall, who had promised to accompany him to see the state of her House's common room and to make sure everyone was behaving themselves. Seeing the distinctive beard and hair through the crowds Leshia and her friends glanced to one another and nodded, knowing they would have to face the music at one point. So after inhaling firmly and joining hands for support, the girls parted the crowds and headed straight for the teachers.

"Good evening Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall," Leshia said firmly and full of self-confidence. Both sets of aged wizened eyes instantly turned on her, and for the meantime not a trace of anger lay in their kindly faces.

"Good evening Miss Malfoy," they both replied.

"Uh…welcome," Leshia tried hopefully and to her surprise Dumbledore actually smiled at her, though McGonagall still looked slightly stern.

"I trust tomorrow the three of you won't be too busy, what with tidying up after this lot, to come and see us in the headmaster's study?" she asked the girls with a stern look. The girls nodded quickly.

"Of course," they all blurted out.

"Good, well then we'll see you at noon." With this she turned to the headmaster, to see whether he wanted to add anything to the disobedient yet astoundingly resourceful and ingenious girls that stood before them.

"Excellent pumpkin juice, I must say," the old man managed with a smile. The girls breathed out in relief and laughed. "I trust you will ensure none of our precious heirlooms will be destroyed. I would so hate to lose the singing foot cushions," he added with a sigh. Once more the girls laughed.

"We've moved everything valuable to a safe place sir," Leshia explained.

"Excellent. Well then I shall look forward to seeing you all tomorrow as arranged," he told the girls. "Leshia, would you spare me a moment, I should like to discuss something with you?"

"Of course sir," Leshia said quickly and she allowed herself to be led off to the side, leaving her friends watching after her anxiously, and at the same time looking put out to be in the position to have to entertain McGonagall until the headmaster returned.

"I hope you were listening at dinner Leshia," the old man told the girl once they reached a relatively childfree part of the common room. The girl nodded fervently. "Good, I do not mind telling you that this message was particularly pertinent to yourself."

"To me sir?" Leshia asked with a frown, and wondered whether this would be about her situation with Allseyer and his cronies.

"Yes, I would like to implore you to be watchful at all times, I do believe you know what I am speaking of." Leshia wrinkled her brow a little, not entirely sure that she did, but then the memory of those haunting eyes came flooding back. With the excitement of the party and her feud with Allseyer, she hadn't given them much thought of late. "Ah, I see that you do. Just be careful. Your parents were very well hated not so long ago Leshia, I would hate for those who disliked them so to find you."

"I will sir," Leshia replied, still frowning heavily. "Sir? Is there something going on that we don't know about?" she asked worriedly. Dumbledore smiled broadly at her.

"My dear child you are but just twelve years of age, there is a multitude of things going on that you do not know about. Even I, at this advanced stage of my life am oblivious to most of the goings on in the world," he said fondly. Leshia grinned sheepishly.

"I meant…things that are relevant to me, and my family."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore replied. "I trust you know that Voldemort was never truly extinguished and that should he return then you would be in a situation of grave danger?" Leshia nodded slowly. "Like all truly great powers Leshia, Voldemort's followers will always re-emerge, no matter how much we long to believe they have been destroyed. All I can ask of you is that you remain vigilant. You and your friends must remember to watch on another, with friends like yours…" Here Dumbledore paused and looked over to see that Katie and Rachel and shuffled closer to one another, pushing against each other for support in front of McGonagall, who seemed to be lecturing them. "I do not fear for your safety, but you must not go looking for trouble."

"I'll try," Leshia replied, once more, not wanting to lie. She still had Allseyer to sort out, and then there was this mystery concerning her grandfather.

"Is there anything you wish to ask me?" For a moment Leshia paused, thinking how many of her unanswered questions could be answered by this wise old man, but slowly, she shook her head.

"No."

"Very well," Dumbledore said with a smile and he looked over to the stage. "Oh I do rather like this number," he suddenly said with a twinkling smile. "Please, if you will excuse me?"

"Of course," Leshia said with a smile and she breathed a sigh of relief when Dumbledore shuffled off to push through the throng of girls to the front of the crowd. Within moments Katie and Rachel had joined her.

"Are we in trouble?" Rachel asked with a wince. Leshia shook her head vaguely, watching now as Dumbledore climbed over the crowd dividers and started dancing to the song, much to the amusement of all the children and the band, who cheered him on gleefully.

"No," she replied. "Not yet anyway. Let's see what the morning brings eh?" The girls watched Dumbledore in varying states of euphoria, until eventually the old dancing headmaster called it a day and left with the highly amused head of Gryffindor. The party was really getting started now and the girls noted that many of the people who had sauntered off to the ball had returned, evidently in search of a better party. Ryan and his friends were amongst the returnees, and they fell upon the girls when they came across them.

"I don't know how you guys pulled it off, but this is the best party this place has ever seen," Ryan told them while he wrestled Leshia into the crook of his arm, managing to ruffle her hair playfully, before she punched him teasingly in the ribs to stop.

"It's something called imagination, you should try it sometime," the girl joked with a smug smile, which she soon regretted as after a brief glance to one another, all three seventh year heartthrobs pounced at her, tickling her so manically that she nearly wet herself from the laughter.

"Stop please," she wailed and the boys finally let her go to go in search of some refreshments and some girls their own age. Playing with the youngsters was fun, but this seemed to be a smashing party, no doubt the type of party that would make the females more susceptible to their advances.

"They adore you," Katie sighed jealously once they'd departed. Leshia frowned and wiped away at the tears that had formed when she had been laughing uncontrollably.

"What?" she managed sounding entirely unconvinced.

"You heard me."

"You're mad you are," Leshia complained with a grin. "They're just big kids, and they can't play around with people their own age, so they pick on me!" Katie was about to rebuke her when suddenly Rachel went very pale and started flapping her arms wildly.

"Look they came!" Both Leshia and Katie were drawn out of their potential argument to see who Rachel was blabbing about, and soon their eyes fell on the telltale figures of Krum and Lukas. The crowds were parting as the pair of Quidditch heroes walked through the common room evidently seeking out Leshia, who at this point turned rather weak at the knees at the sight of her idol. She didn't have time to hide however, as soon they had spotted the girl and were walking determinedly towards her.

"Hallo," Krum said and he bowed his head slightly, seemingly a little daunted by the dozens of youngsters staring at him.

"Hi," the girls said with three big smiles – arguably, Leshia's was of the slightly shakier variety.

"Hello again," Lukas exclaimed in his deep booming voice and he held out his hand, which Katie and Rachel fought to shake. The men chuckled at their exuberance, and soon Lukas was extending his large weather-beaten hand in Leshia's direction. She just about brought herself to lift her hand to his, and to her utmost horror he placed his other hand on top her hers and shook her hand slowly. "Thank you very much for inviting us, you seem to have a lot of guests," he told her kindly, nodding as he spoke. Leshia nodded along with a dumbstruck expression and she was altogether thrilled when suddenly Rodeo and Parys appeared at her side looking slightly hostile – though at the time she didn't notice their reactions to Lukas, suffice to say Katie did and they stirred a torrent of confusing emotions in her.

"Hi," Rodeo said strongly, looking rather bemused.

"Hello," both men greeted he boy and Lukas finally let go of Leshia's hand, allowing her to inch behind her saviours a little.

"Are you hungry, or thirsty?" Rachel asked the men hopefully and they smiled to her genially and nodded. "Come on then." With this the girls led the men, accompanied by their male protective escorts up to the refreshments room where the crowd parted allowing the hungry quidditch players to descend upon the table. They remained in this room talking to the youngsters and answering their questions about the game, and slowly Leshia became calm enough to start to ask her own questions – mainly to Lukas about all the dramatic dives, goals and injuries he'd had during the World Cup Campaign. The young man was very flattered by the girl's keen attention to detail and her vast memory and he couldn't hide the fact that he found her to be adorable either. Like a guard dog Rodeo didn't leave Leshia's side the entire time and he managed to fix his glare on Lukas for the length of their conversation, something the young chaser found to be even more enchanting – ah, young love.

An hour after they had first arrived and still Leshia was no closer to finding out about Krum's history with her parents. He seemed keen to talk though and Leshia decided she would take him to one of the unused dormitories to have their talk. She was all set on suggesting as much when suddenly Rachel came bursting into the dormitory, she had only left to go to the toilet, but now she seemed horrendously scared.

"Your dad's here!" she practically yelled in Leshia's direction. Leshia's jaw veritably dropped and her eyes darted to Krum who was staring at her, waiting for orders.

"Where is he?" she demanded as she started towards the door, the men in close pursuit.

"Coming up the bloody stairs," Rachel replied in a state of frenzy. "And he's heading this way! What are we going to do?" Leshia spun around in complete terror and grabbed the first person her eyes fell on: Rodeo.

"Go outside and head him off," she ordered. He looked very unwilling to risk his wellbeing in trying to tell the dreaded Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher to do anything, but Leshia needed him, so he nodded bravely while inhaling a vast amount of air. With one last nod he opened the door.

"Professor Malfoy," he exclaimed and Leshia darted to the side away from the door, dragging Krum with her by the sleeve. "Leshia's looking for you, she's in our dormitory watching the Weasleys' demonstration," the boy added and for all pretences he sounded entirely sincere.

"Are you sure?" Draco's suspicious tone came. "Professor Flitwick downstairs told me he could have sworn he saw her coming in here." Out in the corridor Rodeo raised his arms in a gesture that said 'who knows?' and behind the door Leshia closed her eyes tightly mouthing, 'please, please, please,' over and over again. "All right then, lead the way." Draco finally sighed heavily, evidently not impressed with the amount of wild antics going on. Leshia gave them a few moments to walk away, until she pushed open the door and led the men out, leading them down the stairwell towards her own dormitory. It would seem she had not given them ample time though, as she rounded the curved stairwell she suddenly saw her father with his back turned, not two yards away, bearing down on a frightened first year.

"Did you just say 'where's Krum'?" he was demanding loudly and angrily.

"No, no, she said 'where's the gum'," Rodeo lied convincingly.

"Are you sure?" Draco demanded. The boy nodded quickly and retrieved a piece of chewing gum from his pocket and handed it to the bewildered girl.

"Here you go, now run along," he told her and she didn't need telling twice. The girl headed straight for Leshia and her stowaways and it was thus that Rodeo finally laid eyes on her. Later he wondered how on earth he'd managed to keep his expression neutral, but somehow he managed to convey to Leshia to get the hell away. She nodded and darted back, just in time, as down below Draco spun around, before glancing back at Rodeo suspiciously.

"Sir?" Rodeo asked uneasily. "It's this way." But Draco wasn't listening he was heading up the stairs again, towards the refreshments room where Leshia had dove back into with the amused, yet slightly concerned, Bulgarians in pursuit.

"Get him out!" Leshia hissed to her friends as she dove straight for one of the beds, dragging the Bulgarian quidditch players onto it and then shutting the curtains tightly.

"Don't think anything, he'll know you're here," she told the men before she held up her fingers to her mouth to silence their queries just as Draco burst through the door with a frantic Rodeo in pursuit.

"See," the boy exclaimed in immense relief. "She's not here, she's with the Weasleys!"

"Are you looking for Leesh Professor Malfoy?" Rachel asked cheerfully, as Draco scanned the room suspiciously, though he managed to nod to his daughter's best friend. "I'm just going to find her myself, do you want to come?" the girl persisted naturally. After a few painful moments of silence, in which Draco scanned the room, he finally lifted his head and nodded vaguely.

"Yeah go on then," he sighed and followed Rachel and Rodeo out.

"Is he gone?" she hissed to a girl near the bed, who nodded with a grin on her face. "Excellent." This time Leshia waited for the all clear from a chain of friends stationed down the stairwell, until she led the men down the stairs and to her door.

"Troll trunks," she told the door and it swung open. Leshia bustled the men in assuring them she'd distract her father, and that they should make themselves comfortable, read a diary or two (safe in the knowledge that she didn't keep one), but that by no means they should come out unless she collected them. The girl then darted back into the stairwell and ran as fast as she could down to the common room.

"I could have sworn she was there a minute ago," she heard Rachel saying loudly, just as she'd managed to dive down into the throng of dancing girls.

"Look I've had enough of this, no more games, where is she?" Draco demanded loudly as he rounded the corner.

"Dad?" she called out, walking back over to the staircase as though she had been in the common room all along. Draco looked vexed (and that was putting it mildly) and as Leshia caught up with him on the stairs he gave her a highly unimpressed and suspicious glare.

"Where have you been?" he asked icily. "I checked down here, you weren't here a moment ago."

"Yeah I've been in the toilets dad, calm down," the girl complained with an incredulous grin. Draco sighed heavily, but nodded.

"Fine," he said. "I was only dropping by to see how things were going, I didn't expect I was going to have to hunt you down."

"Well I'm here now," Leshia said fondly and she led her father to the refreshments room so he could get a drink and simmer down. She'd just sat him down beside Neville Longbottom, who had emerged from his own room to get some food, when she pretended to have forgotten something in the toilets. Draco was too wrapped up in his conversation with the bestselling author to join her – not that he wouldn't have liked to (both due to his somewhat dislike of Neville Longbottom and because he knew she was up to something), but it would have seemed rude. Once down in the common room Leshia headed straight for Ryan Lofting, who at this moment was sunk into one of the armchairs lining the side of the room with two young ladies wedged in beside him (both from Hufflepuff by the looks of it).

"Shorty," Ryan cheered when he saw the girl, and the girls beside him felt a little put off by his exuberance at seeing a second year, he hadn't seemed so pleased to see them.

"Lofting I need a big big favour!" she exclaimed breathily, all this running around was beginning to tire her out.

"Yeah sure, anything," Ryan said quickly seeing the girl was serious.

"Can I borrow your dormitory to have a conversation in?" she asked hopefully. Ryan grinned to his friends at the girl's adorableness; that was hardly a 'big big favour'.

"Of course you can," Luka, one of his friends, laughed.

"Who's doing the talking?" Oskar, the other friend asked, but they never received a reply as the girl had darted through the crowds again to where the band was performing, leaving the young men looking at one another with fond looks.

"That girl," Ryan laughed. "She's too much!" Meanwhile Leshia had reached the front of the crowds and had quickly drawn Pansy Parkinson's attention.

"Seventh floor boys dormitory in like ten seconds, password's 'troll trunks'," she called to her, before snatching one of the freebie signed T-shirts that was lying on the stool at the woman's side. "I need to borrow this!" With this she darted into the crowd snatching the closest person's pumpkin juice and throwing it over the T-shirt she had just stolen. With her new soiled prize she ran back to the refreshments room, which Draco was about to leave in search of her. Finally Leshia allowed herself to breathe and boy was she panting.

"What's that?" Draco asked indicating the T-shirt in her hand.

"Oh, this," Leshia said nonchalantly. "It's mine…" she began, but Draco had taken it from her hand and was inspecting the motif and the signatures with raised eyebrows of consternation, before he looked to his daughter incredulously.

"But you hate this band," he stated simply.

"Yeah, well you didn't let me finish did you?" Leshia laughed. "It's my fault that I spilled pumpkin juice all over Katie's T-shirt. I was trying to wash it off," she explained and she even sounded convincing to Katie, who had never seen the T-shirt before in her life.

"Thanks Leesh," Katie lied and she took the T-shirt from her friend.

"No problem," the girl replied, feeling silently thankful that Katie had managed to lie convincingly for once. In fact her lie was so convincing that Draco managed to relax a little.

"Have you been running a marathon or something, here, have a drink," he told his daughter amusedly and he reached out and grabbed her a bottle of butterbeer from the refreshments table, which she gulped at greedily. Her father chuckled and ruffled her hair a little, finally beginning to calm down, and think maybe he'd jumped to conclusions about her being up to no good. Just because nine times out of ten his suspicions weren't unfounded didn't mean the girl had to be trouble making every times he laid eyes on her…did it?

"Oh dad, there's something I wanted to show you," Leshia said and she put down her now empty bottle, before reaching out and taking her father's hand.

"Oh yeah? This sounds ominous," Draco said fondly, but he allowed himself to be led back across the boys' staircase and up to the very top.

"What on earth do you get up to up here?" her father asked with more than a hint of annoyance. His twelve-year-old daughter had no business up in the seventh year boys' dormitory. Leshia gave him a slight look of trepidation before she turned to the door and uttered the password. It swung open and Leshia walked in ahead of Draco. Pansy must have been hidden in the shadows, as she couldn't see the ghastly woman.

"Leesh? Can I have a word?" It was Rachel out in the corridor as planned. After glancing apologetically at her father Leshia darted out again and shut the door behind her.

"Was she in there?" Rachel asked softly as both girls pressed their ears up against the door to listen in, but it would seem the locking spell had rendered this impossible.

"I don't know, I didn't see her."

Inside Draco was pacing the floor agitatedly, all this was extremely odd. And one thing Draco Malfoy could not stand was oddity. Well…unexplained oddity, he could quite accept that his daughter was an odd character to begin with, but when she started acting out of turn he did wonder.

"Draco?" The young man spun round in surprise and instantly regretted doing so as his eyes fell on the half naked form of Pansy Parkinson.

"God woman, put some clothes on," he complained in surprise, as he threw his hand over his eyes. Pansy was not dissuaded.

"Oh come on Draky, play with me," she flirted outrageously. Draco pulled down his hand only momentarily to shoot her an unimpressed look. "Come on, you know you want to. What with that scrawny Granger woman, you must miss the touch of a real woman." Draco sighed angrily and realised he was going to have to take matters into his own hands, again! So while still averting his gaze he walked past the mostly-naked woman and found her robes.

"Firstly," he said brusquely. "That Granger woman is my _wife_, so show some respect." As he spoke he draped the robes round his ex-girlfriend's shoulders and forced her to wrap them round herself. "Secondly, you know my type, so you should know it's all Hermione and very little of you." He was being hurtful now, but this damn woman needed to get the hint. It would seem at long last she was, as she pulled the robe around herself a little tighter. "And lastly, did my daughter set you up to this? Because if she did I'll kill her."

"Oh get over yourself Draco," Pansy quipped. "I am capable of seducing you without the help of a twelve-year-old thank you very much. God you've turned boring!" The young woman started to pull her clothes back on while Draco continued to stare straight ahead at a particular boy's messy corner of the dormitory – he could not know this was Luka, well known through the school for being the messiest boy on the grounds. "You never would have turned down the chance at a free…"

"Yes well I guess I have changed," Draco snapped, not wanting to think about the times they'd…well, he didn't want to think about it. The very thought of touching the fake over-made up harpy was making his stomach feel unsettled.

"Why did you do it Draco?" The woman suddenly seemed serious and as she was now fully dressed he was able to turn and look at her.

"Do what?" he asked with a frown.

"Switch sides." For the first time in over a decade it seemed that Pansy Parkinson was revealing real emotion to the young man. She seemed almost…sad. This alone earned her the truth.

"I had to," he replied. "Voldemort was evil, for everybody's sake…he had to go."

"But you hated them…you hated her," the woman was continuing, and she lowered her gaze to the ground feeling humbled. She had loved Draco Malfoy. Even after he left school and fell for that Granger woman, she never really stopped loving him.

"I changed. I realised that I thought I knew everything, and that I was wrong."

"You really love her don't you? I heard about you, about how you never wandered after she'd gone, that you remained loyal to her…" Once more the woman trailed off, feeling jealous of Hermione for winning Draco's undivided love, and feeling so unutterably sad that she had lost him.

"Yes Pansy, I do," Draco replied calmly. After inhaling slowly Pansy nodded and headed for the door, there was no point in staying here, not after this. There was a crowd of eager youngsters downstairs, and for now, they gave her all the love she needed. Draco met her at the door and he pulled it open to reveal…

"Hermione?" he exclaimed in surprise, only moments after Leshia had uttered, "Mum," in exactly the same tone. Hermione coming up the stairs at exactly the same time as Draco leaving a dark dormitory with Pansy Parkinson in pursuit doing up the top button of her blouse, was not how Leshia had envisioned this particular plan unfolding.

"Draco Malfoy!" Hermione managed in surprised horror. "What were you doing in there with _her_? And on top of that with your twelve-year-old daughter right outside?"

"Mum I can explain," Leshia tried, but Hermione didn't heed her.

"Explain yourself Draco," Hermione continued and she seemed more hurt and confused than angry.

"It's not at all what you think," Draco told her sounding a little tetchy. Why on earth did his wife always have to find him at the most inopportune times and then accuse him of God knows what?

"Well what could possibly explain why you've been in a dormitory on your own with that woman, who's still trying to dress herself?" Hermione asked tearfully as she brought her hand up to her head to rub it anxiously. On top of all this a headache was starting to form.

"Mum?" Leshia tried again.

"Leshia sweetheart, please be quiet," Hermione ordered slightly firmly and Leshia chewed her lower lip anxiously, glancing up to see her father was beginning to get rather annoyed – she knew the warning signs well.

"For Goodness sake woman would you listen to yourself?" Draco grumbled. "We were just talking."

"Talking?" Hermione scoffed. "In a dark dormitory, in your underwear?" For a moment Draco felt his patience snap, and later on in the evening he realised this is where everything took a turn for the worse and could have nearly ended in disaster.

"Look, only she was in her underwear!" For a moment silence descended upon the corridor as Hermione stared dumbstruck and her husband, Leshia turned to look at her father in disgust and Pansy raised her eyebrows realising this was her cue to leave.

"I'll see you some other time Draco," she said breezily, before she flounced down the stairs giving Hermione a simmering smile. "Hermione." With this she was gone, with Rachel hot on her heels, eager to get away from the Malfoy family showdown that was about to erupt.

"Uh, I might just go…" Leshia began, but Draco suddenly fixed his glare onto her.

"Not one step young lady," he ordered angrily, before he looked back to his wife reassuringly, who was now fighting back the tears. "That came out wrong, I'm sorry! She made a pass at me, I didn't do anything." Hermione gulped away at her tears angrily and shook her head.

"How can I believe you?" she uttered helplessly.

"Because," Draco said with a charming smile and he started to descend the stairs towards his wife. "You trust me." Hermione still looked no closer to believing him. "And besides, have you looked at yourself lately? How could I give you up for a tart like her huh?" With this he reached his wife and wrapped his arms around her waist; she didn't object.

"Talking?" she asked lightly, her tears drying up.

"All about you," Draco replied with a charming smile, before he morphed his expression into as innocent a look as he could fathom. "Am I forgiven?" Hermione's face finally broke into a smile and she lunged forward kissing her husband firmly. He laughed dashingly and wrapped his arms firmly around her, swinging her round on the precarious steps while kissing her back with all his might. Thinking this was her only chance of escaping this without a whole heap of trouble, Leshia tried to dart around her loved up parents, but it would seem Draco was aware of her cunning plan and he reached out his hand lighting quick and caught her by the scruff of the neck. He continued to kiss his wife for a few more moments before finally he pulled away and looked down at their wayward daughter

"Not so fast you," he said and he sounded dangerous, indeed, that 'you're in trouble' glint in his eye was definitely back. "I want answers, and they had better be good ones." Leshia grimaced and looked far from able to deliver an answer that would satisfy her father, so she opted for the truth.

"She would only come if I could get her ten minutes alone with you," she blurted out very quickly and then promptly looked at her feet, avoiding her father's narrowed eyes and her mother's wounded look.

"Oh, so you wanted you father to cheat on your mother with that famous tart then?" Draco asked brusquely. "How terribly dramatic of you."

"No of course not!" Leshia exclaimed and she looked up with sincerity oozing from her desperate expression. "I didn't think she'd try anything like that and I certainly didn't think you'd do anything." Draco's expression didn't change, but Hermione looked a little comforted.

"You lied to me, and you used me, for what?" Draco was continuing darkly. Leshia looked away ashamedly. "You will look at me when I'm talking to you Alecia." The girl quickly looked up with a heart achingly vulnerable expression that ensured Hermione had to look away. Normally she would attempt to rescue her daughter from the depths of Draco's temper, but this time, just maybe, she had deserved it. "What was so important that you could just abuse me in this way, some poxy band that you don't even like?" Leshia gulped, contorting her expression into an almighty attempt to stave the tears that were building up.

"I didn't think you'd be so upset," she tried, but it barely came out louder than a whisper, as her voice was misbehaving.

"Yes well, you haven't been thinking about many people other than yourself all term, I don't like what's happening to you," Draco continued, still no less cruel and no less angry. The sentiment was real. Though he didn't truly believe his daughter to be so heartless and insensitive, she had been doing a very good impression of the Slytherins she claimed to hate so much and of the Slytherin that Draco once was. He hated seeing those qualities in his usually perfect (at least in his eyes) little girl.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered through a congested throat and a few tears fell from her open eyes. At this Draco's resolve took a major hit and he even allowed Hermione to rush forward and wrap the girl up in her motherly embrace. After inhaling and exhaling very slowly, Draco felt much calmer.

"Come here," he said brusquely and he reached out an arm, which Leshia instantly dove for, burying her face in his chest. Hermione smiled warmly at her husband and reached out to stroke their daughter's back. "I knew this party was important to you, I just didn't think you'd put it before me that's all." Leshia hugged him tighter and shook her head.

"That's not what I meant to do," her muffled reply came. "Nothing comes before you and mum. I just didn't think you'd mind so much, and I didn't think that Miss Parkinson would take all her clothes off." Hermione suppressed a snort of laughter and even Draco managed a smile. Put so innocently, it didn't sound all that bad, and Draco was too impressed with his daughter's resourcefulness and cunning to feel too angry.

"I'm not all _that_ mad little one," he finally said and Leshia pulled away, her tear stained face morphed into an adorable expression of hope.

"Really?" Draco smiled and wiped her tears away with a weather-beaten thumb.

"Really," he repeated and he kissed her forehead firmly.

"Mum?" Leshia then asked turning on her mother, who smiled adoringly at her and pulled her into another embrace.

"What are we going to do with you eh?" the young woman asked fondly.

"Love me and spoil me and give me lots of presents?" Leshia suggested jokingly, ensuring both her parents laughed fondly.

"Come on, you'd better get back to this party of yours, everyone will be wondering where the prodigal host has gone," Hermione said warmly and after wiping away the last of Leshia's tears the small family made their way back down to the common room, where the girl's parents abandoned her to make their way back to their chambers; they had some making up of their own to do. As soon as they had disappeared through the portrait hole, Leshia ran back up the stairs towards her dormitory, and after uttering the password she burst through.

"I'm so sorry it took so long," she panted breathily, but the men didn't seem to mind. They were sat in one of window boxes set into the curved exterior wall. Lukas seemed to be staring at the girl adoringly, and only later did Leshia realise why. He had evidently spotted the gigantic poster she had of him next to her bed, and he also probably noticed the signed picture she kept on her bedside table alongside the little model of the chaser that was defect. "Do you want to talk now?" she asked Krum hopefully and to her utmost relief he nodded decisively.

"Yes, I think that is very good idea," he said and nodded to Lukas, who took his leave after giving the girl a supportive smile. After he had shut the door behind himself Leshia walked over to the Bulgarian quidditch legend and sat down on her bed, which was positioned nearest the window box. "I do not know where to start," Krum began with a sigh that was laden with sadness. "Many years ago, before you were born, I helped in battle against Voldemort. I helped your mother, and we were very close. I loved her very much, but she love your father, not me. So I wait and I wait, and then, your father and Harry Potter kill Voldemort." Leshia nodded, she had heard this heroic tale many times; though never from her father, he hated to relive that terrible day it would seem.

"But, we all think that they both have died," Krum explained. "And because I love 'Ermione, she comes to me for…uh…how do you say this…"

"Comfort?" Leshia suggested, and Krum nodded firmly.

"Yes, comfort," he said. "It take only short time for her to think she loves me instead, but I did not care if she did not mean it, I loved her too much. So we became a…uh…"

"Couple?" the girl provided tentatively, and once more the Bulgarian nodded.

"Yes, for many months," he explained. "In the beginning, 'Ermione discover she is pregnant, and I was very happy." Leshia hung her head a little feeling a little sheepish and sympathetic for the poor man.

"Did mum not know that dad was the father?" she asked, and Krum shook his head sadly.

"She did no tell me, she knew, but did not tell me," he sighed. "She think that maybe, I never find out, that Draco is gone…but…"

"He came back," Leshia sighed sadly and once more Krum nodded, though this time he was smiling.

"I think you no this story already no?" he chuckled. Leshia grinned.

"Sorry," she said cheerfully. "I'll stop interrupting you now."

"No no, is okay," the man laughed. "Your mother, she is the same, can never let me speak more than a sentence. Well, anyway, Draco came back four months before you be born and 'Ermione was very sad." Leshia fought the urge to interrupt to exclaim her surprise at this. "Very very sad, because she love Draco, but now, she also love me and she did not want hurt me."

"That's awful," Leshia said softly.

"'Ermione tell him she stay with me, that baby is mine, but he no listen and try and try to take her back from me," Krum said and a trace of anger laced into his words, and for the first time in her life Leshia felt a little ashamed of her father. How could he have been so selfish…so cruel? "I fight with him many times, and this make 'Ermione more sad. Draco would not give in, so in end, I say goodbye."

"That's so sad," Leshia sighed.

"For me yes, but no for you I think," Krum said with a small smile, causing the girl to wrinkle her brow in confusion. "Well, you grow up with your father. He take good care of you yes?" Leshia nodded quickly, though at this moment in time she was ashamed of him, he had been an excellent father and she was very close to him. How different things could have been had Krum hung in there. Would she be in Durmstrang now speaking Bulgarian? "Come, we go party? I am hungry now, after spend all night in your bedroom."

Leshia laughed and got to her feet to follow the man out, but at the door she quickly lunged forward and hugged him. He had looked as though he needed a hug and to her surprise he returned it gratefully. It hurt him badly to see how wonderful the girl had turned out, he could have been a father, her father…but it was too late. Viktor Krum had reached the stage of his life where a wife and child seemed unlikely. He was too set in his ways, and too heartbroken to trust anyone. There had been plenty of women, but none seemed to make the cut, none of them were Hermione.

As soon as Leshia made it down into the common room she was instantly jabbered at from all different directions by her excitable friends. The girl just about managed to extract that Neville Longbottom had been found kissing Joanne Tayler at the top of the stairs. The evening continued with many people disappearing to the darkest corners of Gryffindor tower to get to know each other more intimately, and after noticing this Leshia was more thrilled than ever that they had passworded the dormitories. The party was so incredibly hectic now, as most of the ball-goers had returned and were joining in with the festivities.

XXX

The scenes of jubilation taking place in Gryffindor tower were such a stark contrast from the entirely intimate and loving scenes taking place in Draco and Hermione's chambers. Dressed only in the swathes of sheets that clung to them, Hermione leant on her husband's chest, lying at a right angle to his tall lean body. Her fingers were absent-mindedly stroking the faded mark on his forearm tentatively, remembering the days he hadn't even allowed her to see it, let alone stroke it. His shame had been so great back then, and even now she saw the pain and anger that laced his face whenever his eyes fell on the ghastly Dark Mark.

"Was it painful, when they did this to you?" she asked softly.

"Excruciatingly," Draco replied with a dark lopsided smile. "He loved to torture his followers did Voldemort. Makes you wonder why people fell for his lies…makes you wonder why he had anyone at all." He sighed heavily and glanced briefly to the mark on his arm, before he winced slightly and looked away.

"But you still don't regret any of it?" his wife asked and she left his arm alone, shuffling up the bed a little to look him in the eye. Her husband was shaking his head slowly.

"Without me, you lot would have failed miserably," he said with a conceited smile; he was only half-joking.

"True," Hermione replied simply, before she shot him a conceited grin of her own. "But without me, you wouldn't still be standing with the amount of times I put you back together again." Draco chuckled warmly and the sound reverberated through his chest and made Hermione's skin tingle. The simple pleasures her husband offered her brought her more pleasure than she had known before her ordeal. She had never taken him for granted, but now every smile he cast in her direction, or every time their skin brushed against one another in passing, she cherished the moment. This man was everything to her, as was the child he had given her.

"Ah, I would have managed," Draco countered cheerfully, causing Hermione to snort derisively.

"Well you wouldn't have been the handsome devil you are now," she complained with an adoring smile. "Probably looked more like old Moody."

"Oh come on, I'm not capable of not being handsome, I mean, look at me," the young man joked and he held out his arms to show off his Adonis like physique, opening himself up for an attack, which his wife instantly lunged into, tickling every inch of his skin she could reach. The young man roared with laughter and instantly overpowered his smaller wife and returned the favour. Knowing exactly where Hermione absolutely _hated_ to be tickled he soon got his revenge.

"Malfoy stop it!" Hermione cried out through wild laughter and she tried desperately to escape.

"Do you promise to stop being such a know-it-all?"

"Yes! I promise!" With a broad smile he let the young woman go and she skittered over to the other side of the bed, dragging the sheets with her and draping them around herself to protect her vulnerable sides. "God, you're such a bully," she complained lovingly.

"That's why you married me," Draco said cheerfully, before he climbed to his feet to locate his clothes once more.

"Where are you going?"

"Back to the party, make sure that daughter of yours is behaving herself." By now the young man had located his loose jeans and he pulled them on once more, tightening the belt on this slim hips.

"Firstly," Hermione laughed. "She's more your daughter than mine…"

"Don't say that," Draco complained and he looked a little wounded. "You know it's not true." Hermione let it slide this once, as she didn't want to get into another one of _those _discussions; they were too painful.

"Well regardless, you can't just go and bother the poor girl again, leave her be."

"I'm sorry?" Draco asked and he seemed pleasantly surprised. "Could you just repeat that? I could have sworn you referred to that girl, who I swear is becoming more like the devil incarnate as every day passes, as a _poor_ girl?" Hermione could see the affection in her husband's face as he spoke these words, though she did wish he'd stop referring to their little girl as the spawn of Satan, it was rather off-putting for a mother.

"You have to let her lead her own life Draco, I know it's hard for you," she explained gently. Draco grinned and shook his head.

"And why's that?"

"Oh, I thought you knew," she said with a serious frown. "You know, because of you being a control freak and everything. Goodness me Draco, I'm surprised you hadn't noticed, the rest of…" She was winding him up, and it was working, as after having a struggle with his long-sleeved T-shirt, the young man gave up and lunged at his wife once more, tickling her until the tears came streaming from her eyes.

"I told you to stop being a know-it-all," Draco countered fondly and he sat down on the edge of the bed, while Hermione sidled up behind him and draped her arms around his shoulders.

"She'll be okay," she whispered in his ear.

"What makes you so sure?" And for a moment a hint of fear entered her husband's voice.

"Because, she takes after her father," Hermione replied, before she kissed the nape of his neck delicately, sending a ripple of shivers down his spine.

"You know," Draco said thoughtfully. "She's possibly the best thing I've ever done with my life."

"I know, I feel the same," Hermione said softly, thinking for the umpteenth time how proud of her daughter she felt, and how amazed she was that she had made something so perfect and pure…well, when she wasn't troublemaking.

"Every time I see it," her husband continued sounding slightly forced, as though he didn't want to part with his feelings on this matter very easily. Hermione knew he was talking of the mark on his poor branded arm. "I think of her…and…that's how I live with myself."

XXX

Meanwhile, back in Gryffindor tower Leshia was once more enveloped in an eager conversation with Lukas, well, rather she was firing question after question at him and he was trying his very best to answer them to the best of his abilities. As midnight approached however, Krum was at his side telling him it was time to go. They were apparating out at twelve along with another one of their team members who had been less inclined to go to a children's party with them. Leshia and her friends seemed mortified that the men were leaving and accompanied them to the portrait hole.

"Thank you so much for coming," Rachel gushed and both men nodded their heads to the youngsters. Then, without so much as a warning, Lukas leaned down and kissed her cheek. Her face instantly glowed bright red, and for several minutes she lost the ability to speak, by which time the men had already departed on their hopefully uninterrupted trek to the main gates.

"Are you okay?" Rachel giggled after five minutes, in which Leshia still hadn't reclaimed the power of her vocal chords. The girl nodded numbly and was so wrapped up in her own horror and jubilation that she didn't notice Rodeo watching her darkly, a jealous glint in his eyes. She couldn't know how much he had wanted to tear the young chaser's hair out when he saw what the man had done. She couldn't know how much the young boy was hurting at this moment.

"Rodeo, are you alright?" Katie's concerned tone came, and in an instant the boy had snapped his gaze onto the pretty dark-haired girl. Such a polar opposite of Leshia, she was an adequate distraction.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he lied with a charming smile. "You wanna grab a drink?" Katie blushed slightly, but nodded all the same.

"Of course," she replied and the pair disappeared up the staircase, with Rachel watching after them darkly. What were they up to? After five minutes Leshia finally snapped out of her funk, only to be lifted up from behind by her three excitable seventh years, who had not managed to find women susceptible to their charms (it would seem most of the females at the party were too fascinated by the band to care for their chat up lines and dashing smiles) and were now bored. Seeing perfect entertainment in the adorable youngster they decided to pick on her. Leaving her to it, Rachel rushed off just in time to jump between Katie and Rodeo, who had looked very cosy in the corner of the room, partially hidden from view by one of the big beds.

"Brilliant party isn't it?" Rachel exclaimed cheerfully, and from this moment on, did not leave their sides until the very last guest had ambled out at three in the morning, with the strictest instructions not to mention that Krum and Lukas had been at the party. When they asked why, Leshia had told them that if they wanted to have a nasty run-in with Professor Malfoy, then they should by all means go blabbing. It was a sign of Draco's reputation that everyone agreed instantly. Leshia was still draped over one of the armchairs in the common room saying goodbye to the guests of honour when Rachel led an extremely frosty Katie downstairs to see what they were going to do about the tidying up.

"Well apparently," Leshia said after Rachel had asked her what they were going to do. "Julia and her friends in seventh year know some spell that will clean everything for us, so…ah, here they are. Hey Julia!" The head girl beamed at Leshia, knowing her uncanny skills were about to be called upon again.

"Watch and learn you lot," she told the assorted Gryffindors before she aimed her wand at the room.

"_Scorgify_," she said loudly and slowly the stained looking carpets, settees, armchairs and even the banners suddenly appeared much cleaner, as all the soaked in beverages and dirt from people's feet was siphoned away. Once this was done, the very able head girl raised her wand to the litter that lined the room. "_Abeo purgamentum_," she said forcefully and as though being sucked into the end of the young woman's wand like a hover, all the rubbish in the room suddenly disappeared at the tip of the long well loved wand. Julia's final trick came when she flicked her wand and repeated, "_Restituo cella_." As though the furniture had suddenly come to life, everything suddenly started to jump back into its original place, whether or not it had an occupant on it or not. Leshia for one was most disgruntled with her armchair ride, but she didn't mention anything of it as the room had returned to normal once more.

"Excellent," she exclaimed sounding more than impressed. "You're not head girl for nothing are you?" Julia beamed at the girl.

"We've already done the other rooms, everything's back to normal." She reported.

"Well then," Leshia said with a big smile. "I'd say this party was a huge success." Everyone cheered in agreement, before heading for the stairwell, quite ready to return to their beds for a well-deserved rest. It would seem though, that they hadn't quite earned it yet, as a scream suddenly sounded in the tower. Everyone rushed up (and down, depending on where they had been standing) the stairs to find that Nicola and Ashley were stood in the open doorway of their dormitory, looking over the tattered remnants of their room in horror.

"Oh my God," Rachel whispered in shock, while the five occupants of the room squeezed in to the ravaged dormitory.

"Who would do this?" Katie uttered sounding hurt. Leshia shook her head in shock and turned to Julia with a pleading expression, wondering if she had some spell that could fix this mess. The seventh year inhaled slowly, before she stepped into the room.

"Everybody get out," she told the people crowding in the door and on her command, the girls darted out, pushing back some of the inquisitive people who had pushed in after Julia. After several moments of controlled breathing, Julia raised her wand and circled the entire room with it.

"_Pondus reparo_," she finally spoke in an eerily calm tone. To everyone's utmost surprise – and relief – the tattered contents of the room started to repair themselves. With so much to be repaired and such a large amount of concentration required, it took the young woman five attempts to set the room to rights, and as the last book magically rebound itself after being cruelly ripped apart a massive roar of approval went up in the corridor beyond. The applause was so deafening that one might have been mistaken for believing that Gryffindor had just won the quidditch cup. In the centre of it all Julia stood smiling tiredly at them all.

"Right now, if no one else has any emergencies, I need to get my beauty sleep," she said tiredly and walked towards the door where she was instantly swept up into Ryan's arms – the young man she had fancied silently from a distance for the last seven years.

"You're amazing, you know that?" he said sounding extremely proud, before he lunged forward and kissed her firmly. Another roar went up in the corridor that left Ryan grinning dashingly at his friends and Julia blushing furiously. This marked the end of a fabulous night and as every Gryffindor went to bed that night, they were grateful for their house's companionship and were extremely thankful that they hadn't been placed in one of the other houses.

XXX

The following morning, or rather, the following noon Leshia opened her eyes to the frantic noise of Katie trying to wake Rachel from a deep slumber she evidently had no intention of being woken from.

"What?" the redhead finally demanded groggily.

"It's midday you idiot! We're _supposed _to be meeting Professor Dumbledore now!" As though someone had lit a firecracker beneath Leshia's bed, she shot up and fell through her curtains. Katie looked grateful that she at least seemed to think this was a big deal. "Rachel, come _on_!"

"Get out of bed you lazy sod!" Leshia called to the girl somewhat amusedly, before she started to pull on her clothes. Under five minutes later the dishevelled girls were making their way through the corridors trying to avoid everybody's beaming smiles at them. They couldn't stop for small talk; they were already in enough trouble as it was. Finally they reached the Phoenix statue that marked the entrance to the headmaster's statue and found McGonagall waiting for them, evidently unimpressed with their tardiness.

"I hope you have a good reason for keeping the headmaster waiting girls," the sour looking teacher told them as she turned to the statue, which instantly started to move into a winding stairwell.

"We were…" Leshia began, but it would seem that the head of their house didn't want to hear their excuse, at least not yet. The trio remained silent as they followed Professor McGonagall up to Dumbledore's luxurious study. He seemed in high sorts, not at all perturbed by their lateness.

"Ah yes, come in, sit down," he told the girls and they filed in humbly, taking the three seats in front of the desk, trying to avoid looking the headmaster in the eye. "I have heard nothing but praise for you three all morning," the aged man told them slowly and he seemed somewhat amused. "It would seem your highly prohibited party last night was an astounding success."

"Yes sir," the girls said humbly.

"And Professor McGonagall tells me that Gryffindor Tower has been returned to its former glory. The signing foot cushions, have they managed to survive the night?" The old man seemed genuinely concerned and Leshia nodded quickly.

"Yes sir, every last one of them," she replied.

"Wonderful," Dumbledore exclaimed heartily. "I would like you all to note, that I am tremendously impressed by the level of ingenuity and resourcefulness that you displayed in arranging last night's events. You showed organisation, persuasive and ambitious qualities well beyond your years. However…" The girls sighed a little, they had known they would not get away with all the rules they had broken, though the headmaster's praise had lulled them into a false sense of security, if only for a few moments. "You have broken more school rules than I care to recall, and in doing so have given me no choice but to give detention every weekend until the end of term." Katie and Rachel nodded glumly, feeling entirely dejected, but Leshia was squirming in her seat seemingly fighting some internal battle. "Do you wish to say anything Miss Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked with a fond twinkle in his wise eyes. Leshia nodded vigorously.

"I don't think that they should be punished, I mean, this was all my idea, I take full responsibility!" she said fervently. At her side her friends turned to stare at her in surprise. Dumbledore furrowed his brow and leaned forward, resting his fingertips together over his desk.

"How terribly noble of you," he said eventually, sounding incredibly proud and impressed. "I do not believe a word of it of course," the old man added fondly. "But for such a noble deed, it is only right that I award you with what you desire. Yes, your friends may escape this punishment if you so wish it." Rachel was shaking her head passionately, not wanting Leshia to take the blame for something they had all partaken in, but Leshia was still staring straight ahead and she nodded firmly.

"Yes sir, I do," she said and she felt a lot better when Dumbledore granted her a winning smile.

"Tomorrow you may start your punishment, I do believe that Professor Ramble has been unable to catch any students doing things they shouldn't this week and as such is without an assistant," the headmaster told Leshia and she nodded once more, seemingly unfazed by the gravity of her punishment. "Right then, if you have nothing you wish to discuss with me, then I really ought to get back to my letter." For a moment the headmaster trailed off and in this inopportune moment all three girls stomachs started to grumble loudly. "Ah yes, and I do believe that they have started serving lunch."

XXX

"I can't believe you just did that Leesh!" Rachel complained the moment they set foot outside the phoenix statue.

"Rach stop being so ungrateful," Katie complained and then she smiled warmly at Leshia. "That was so kind of you Leesh. Really, you didn't have to do that." Leshia smiled back to her kindly and shrugged.

"I know," she said. "I just wanted to that's all. I mean come on; I'm going for a detention all time best aren't I? Can't have you guys catching up!" she added with a grin and Katie started laughing wildly. Rachel remained inconsolable throughout lunch. The thought of the rest of the weekends of the term without her best friend was far too upsetting, so she remained quiet while a steady flock of well wishers came to thank the Gryffindors for the amazing party from the night before. Leshia was particularly enjoying the attention, not because she enjoyed hearing people praising her name, but because across the hall Allseyer was watching her furiously. His face was contorted into such an expression of jealousy and hatred that it warmed the girl's heart.

"Hey Leesh, look at Ryan Lofting," Katie suddenly whispered in Leshia's ear. The girl snapped out of her glaring contest with Allseyer and glanced up the table to see that Ryan Lofting – the Casanova of Hogwarts – was engaged in an intimate looking conversation with none other than Julia Walling. They seemed to be loving every moment of their talk, realising that they had more in common than they had first thought.

"Awww," Leshia chuckled and she beamed at her friends, before she looked over to where Tom and Luke were rubbing their sore heads – some of their uncle's concoctions from the night before had not been altogether side effect free. "Hey you two look," she called to them and they followed the direction her finger was pointing. "Looks like Little Lofting's got himself a girlfriend," she teased playfully. At her beck and call a teasing chant went up around the table and in retaliation, to which Ryan responded in true Lofting fashion by leaning in and kissing Julia tenderly to a chorus of catcalls and 'Alright Lofting's. Julia was glowing red, but she was loving every moment of it. The night before she and Ryan had stayed up all night juts talking and they had discovered that they had more in common than either could have imagined. It would seem that love was definitely in the air.

XXX

Much later on, after an exuberant exploding chess tournament, and a mass energetic retelling of last night's gossip and events in the common room, the girls sloped up to their dormitory to work on their Potions essays. As Katie and Rachel got underway, Leshia was staring into her bag with a frown. She was missing something, but what that something was, she couldn't quite figure out.

"Forgotten something?" Katie asked, while Rachel shot the blonde girl a putout look; she still hadn't forgiven her for abandoning her yet.

"No," Leshia replied and she started to pull everything out of her bag to examine the contents in more detail.

"Then what, little spring cleaning?" Katie suggested cheerfully. Leshia grinned and shook her head once more.

"No," she chuckled and examined the books and parchments lying on her quilt with a look of deep thought. "Oh no!" she suddenly gasped and then frantically started leafing through her books. "No!" she repeated sounding pained.

"What?" Her friends were at her side now, looking over the messy contents of their friend's bag.

"The note!" Leshia exclaimed as she dropped down to her knees and looked under her bed. "It's gone!"

"What the Lucius note?" Katie asked sounding surprised. "When did you last have it?"

"Two days ago in History Of Magic," Leshia's muffled reply came – she had by now pulled herself under the bed to search every corner. "I was bored so I was trying to figure out what it meant. It was in my bag, I know it was!" Her friends had fallen silent and were looking to one another darkly.

"Leesh you don't think whoever trashed our room last night was after it do you?" Rachel finally asked, breaking her vow of silence. For a moment the frantic sound of Leshia scrabbling around ceased and the girl pulled herself out from under the bed with a matching look on her face.

"You know what, I'd completely forgotten about that," she said softly. "I bet that's why they did it…but who on earth did it?" The girls sank onto Leshia's bed, shoving her stuff out of the way and closing the curtains in around themselves for some privacy while they discussed who on earth would let her find the note in the first place and then would risk sneaking in to a crowded party only to take it back again.

"Could it have been Krum?" Rachel asked darkly. "I mean he was in here alone!"

"Of course it wasn't Krum," Leshia complained, though she couldn't be sure of course. "The place was fine when we talked, and besides, he didn't leave our sight afterwards remember?"

"He still could have taken it though, and then later someone else could have come after it and found it gone, that would probably tick them off no end," Katie suggested, but once more Leshia shook her head.

"It wasn't Krum," she told them protectively.

"All right, keep your hair on," Katie said with a grin.

"Look the doors were passworded, someone must have found it out," Rachel said logically. "We just need to try and think who was here last night."

"_Everyone_ was here last night!" Leshia complained pointedly. "And at least a dozen out-housers and guests must have heard the password, I mean I practically had to yell it to that Parkinson idiot because the music was so loud."

"So basically," Katie said slowly and she looked very humbled. "There's no way of knowing who took it, or why."

XXX

Over the following weeks the girls watched their backs carefully, trying to spot any suspicious behaviour, but as far as they were aware everyone was acting normally. Their social standing had shot up several notches, but other than that nothing had changed. It would seem love was definitely in the air as soon Julia and Ryan took to wandering the corridors hand in hand. The once suave ladies man had finally been tamed, and his friends had taken to prowling Hogsmeade's streets at the weekend alone feeling decidedly sorry for themselves without their ringleader to guide them.

Leshia's detentions were rarely very taxing. In fact on one occasion she had merely had to attend a family dinner in her parents' chambers, which had turned into a very fun and enjoyable evening. The girl had also grown decidedly closer to Ramble, realising the woman had more exciting stories than she had imagined. Ramble always ensured that Leshia enjoyed their detentions together.

The girl's thirteenth birthday came and went and Leshia was inundated with gifts from her family, friends, and fans (indeed, a following had started to creep up in the shadows and Leshia was decidedly uncomfortable with the idea). Dumbledore had granted the girl the Sunday of her birthday off and had also granted Draco and Hermione permission to take Leshia, Katie and Rachel into Hogsmeade to celebrate the occasion. This time there was no fire whisky explosion to mark the occasion and Leshia had a thoroughly good time.

The first quidditch game of the season seemed to be upon them before they knew it, and Leshia had started to feel exceedingly nervous once more. She needn't had worried however, as in the game against Slytherin she caught the snitch within the first five minutes of the game, resulting in a jubilant Gryffindor and everyone else in grumpy sorts, they had been looking forward to a good game, and Leshia's brilliance had curbed their plans.

The term was beginning to fly by and before anyone realised what was going on the last Monday of term arrived, and with it a flurry of fluffy white snow. That morning the girls dressed in extra thick tights and even wrapped woolly scarves around their necks to keep out the chill that was spreading through the castle's corridors. That morning over breakfast they watched the snow falling down in the enchanted ceiling with a sense of trepidation; first thing after break they had Care of Magical Creatures.

"Is there time to go back and get my duvet?" she asked finally sounding miserable. It was a sign of how miserable the gathered youngsters were that they barely managed a smile at her proclamation.

"Come on, we're going to be late for Charms at this rate," Katie said after she had downed the dregs of her orange juice.

"Katie," Rachel exclaimed in surprise. "I've never heard you sound so gloomy about going to a lesson, are you feeling okay?"

"Oh sod off," Katie chuckled and she flounced ahead, leaving her friends to gobble down the remainder of their breakfasts, before careening after her. Charms it turned out was an extremely amusing occasion, as Professor Flitwick felt the children deserved a treat now it was the last week of turn. They played Hangman on the large blackboard, some children played chess in the corner and Leshia and her friends sat around chatting gleefully. This relaxed lesson couldn't have contrasted more from their next, which they soon found out as they lined up outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, a very loud and slightly angry exasperated sound came from behind them. It was Draco and he was staring from one untucked shirt to the next in disbelief. Not one of the children was suitably presentable, though even before he could open his mouth to order them to straighten themselves up, they realised what was wrong and quickly moved to rectify the situation.

"That's better," Draco sighed sounding incredulous still, as though he still couldn't quite believe his class had fronted him like that. "Anyone care to explain why?" he added as he headed down the queue of waiting children slowly towards the door. He fixed each one with a firm and unwavering glare and each and every one shrunk away until her reached a slightly perplexed face that was turned up at him, "You," he ordered.

"We just had Charms and Professor Flitwick didn't mind, so we all forgot," his daughter told him simply.

"That's not a good reason, what if we suddenly forgot to teach you, what would you do then?" Draco grumbled and he headed for the door. It was a sign of the reverence the youngsters held for the man, that none of them turned to one another to whisper "celebrate" in silent response. Had any other teacher walked right into an open joke like that then that would have been the first thing uttered by half the class, but Draco was different. Even Leshia, who had been thinking of the witty comeback held her tongue obediently. Her father seemed in a very peculiar mood and the girl wanted desperately to know why.

"In," the young man barked as the kicked the door open with his foot, before storming into the classroom as though in a mad rage, there was _definitely _something wrong, his daughter concluded. All throughout the lesson Draco remained out of sorts and as the bell for break rang, he merely waved the classroom out with a flick of his wrist. Leshia remained behind and once the others, including her friends, had made their way out of the classroom she walked over to her father, who was leaning against the edge of his desk with his face in his hands. As soon as the girl was within arm's reach she was pulled into a firm embrace.

"Dad what's wrong?" Leshia asked worriedly. "Has something happened?"

"Everything's fine," Draco replied, before he squeezed her tightly once more and then released her, straightening her hair tentatively, which his embrace had caused to stand on end. He was lying, but whatever was bothering him was evidently not for her ears, so Leshia let the matter drop, resorting to secretly worrying about him instead. For some reason his expression reminded her of the time he had pretended that her mother's disappearance was nothing out of the ordinary, as though she had just popped out to the shops and would be back any moment, but after the days turned to weeks, and the weeks slowly turned into years, his expression had slowly started to crumple into despair every time Leshia mentioned her mother, so she had soon stopped.

Draco was well aware that he behaviour was upsetting his daughter, and he wished nothing more than to protect her from all upsets, great and small, so he briskly made his way round his desk to busy himself with some essays in need of marking.

"Shouldn't you be off for break?" he said, and finally he had mastered his natural tone of voice once more. The girl nodded slowly, still watching him with narrowed eyes, as though she were trying her hand at self-taught Legilimensy. "Leshia," he said sternly, wanting her to run along and have fun and be safe and not be plagued with the thoughts that hadn't left him all weekend, not since…

"I'm going," Leshia finally sighed heavily and after giving her father one last look of concern, she made her way to the door.

"Wrap up warmly!" Draco called after her when he remembered which lesson she had next. After the girl had gently closed the door behind herself Draco jumped to his feet and went through to his study, where he had left it…that letter…the letter that had made his heart beat thunderously in his chest, and caused the air to part from his lungs in a rush of fear and panic. In a finely written scrawl (which in itself had caused Draco to start choking on his toast the morning before when he'd laid eyes on it), the letter had merely stated: _He has been sited._

XXX

Care of Magical Creatures was indeed a frosty affair to begin with, but Hagrid really came through with a fun and informative lesson about salamanders. The fires the children had to kindle so as they might observe the fire loving amphibians were toasty warm and all in all the girls were very sorry to finish the lesson. Their feelings were only exacerbated when they remembered that they had potions next, and as such, were a very gloomy bunch as they walked into the dungeon classroom.

Over the past few months the fear of Leshia telling her father about the identities of her attackers, had ensured that Allseyer had maintained a low profile around the girl. As the weeks had progressed and she showed little sign of telling on him, Damian Allseyer had grown a little more confident. Now, as they entered their final week of the term, and his chances to get the little blood-traitor before the Christmas Holidays, the boy was feeling back to his usual ghastly self.

"Trouble in paradise is there Malfoy?" the boy drawled as he sat down in the row in front of Leshia and her friends. Feeling quite surprised that her nemesis was finally speaking to her again; Leshia didn't have time to think of a witty response.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded instead.

"That blood-traitor of a father of yours," Allseyer was continuing with a snide smile. "He wasn't terribly happy today was he?"

"Probably because you were in his presence," Leshia spat back feeling furious that this wretch was trying to turn her family issues into a weapon against her.

"If I were you, I'd start making two Christmas lists."

"What are you on about?" Leshia was starting to get angry now.

"Well it's just, mummy and daddy don't seem to be getting on very well do they, doesn't seem too long before she turfs him out…"

"Shut up Allseyer!" Rachel hissed furiously and her friend's were rather amazed to see their red-haired friend's eyes well up.

"My parents are fine if you must know," Leshia retorted.

"Really, then how come we caught them arguing this morning…and oh, two weeks ago, and two weeks before that?" The unpleasant boy was recounting these events on his long bony fingers. Leshia frowned incredulously.

"Oh yes, real grounds for divorce, three arguments in six weeks," she quipped icily, but then regretted being so flippant, as at her side Rachel's shoulders were shaking a little with the effort of trying to hold her tears back. For her friend's wellbeing Leshia ignored Allseyer's further attempts to rile her up and she focused on distracting Rachel with stories about their Christmas plans – the whole gang would be meeting up at the Burrow for Christmas Lunch, and Leshia was definitely looking forward to it. The girl was altogether thrilled when Snape stalked in and Allseyer had to abandon his attempt at winding her up, as she was about to snap. There was one thing she could not abide, and that was people insulting her family.

"Face the front Allseyer," Snape merely barked as he walked to the front of the classroom. Leshia gave the boy a smug smile, which he returned tenfold, before turning around to see that Snape was watching them with a dark expression, already aware of the fact that the pair of them would be trouble.

He was not mistaken. Fifteen minutes into the lesson, after the potions master had set the children to task brewing a _Temper Teaser_ potion – guaranteed to tease a person's temper back to normal if taken in small quantities, and overly excessive dose would however render the drinker incapable of coherent thought for at least three days – a clattering sound echoed off the cold stone walls of the dungeon classroom. The wizened potions teacher was on the scene within moments to find that Leshia Malfoy was standing over a spilt cauldron, glaring furiously at Allseyer.

"Well don't just stand there Miss Malfoy, go and get a sponge to mop up this mess," Snape told her with a tone of obvious displeasure. "There were only enough ingredients to go around, you will have to join one of the others."

"But it's his fault," Rachel complained, her finger pointing to the ghastly Slytherin boy. "He pushed her!"

"It was an accident," Allseyer said slyly, his tone and expression indicating that it was anything but.

"That is enough Miss Weasley, five points from Gryffindor, now get back to work while Miss Malfoy cleans up this mess," Snape ordered sharply, causing Rachel to offer Leshia a small glance of support, before she returned to their bench with her own cauldron, muttering about hook-nosed teachers. None of the other children made an effort to move, still waiting for Leshia to make some sort of acknowledgement of Allseyer's challenge. Snape however, didn't have time for their dawdling. "Well get a move on," he ordered loudly, and the children quickly complied, leaving Leshia looking at the green mess on the floor dejectedly, plotting how she would get Allseyer back. It would seem that Snape was aware of this.

"Any trouble out of you Miss Malfoy and you will be spending your last evening in this castle scrubbing down this classroom from top to bottom, do I make myself clear?" he told her slowly and concisely, evidently trying to make himself absolutely clear. Leshia instantly donned an innocent expression and nodded.

"Yes sir," she said quickly, before she rushed off to get the mop from the stock cupboard. Ten minutes later Leshia sat down next to Rachel with a small-satisfied smile on her face.

"What have you done?" the redhead whispered over her bubbling concoction. Her friend gave her an innocent expression.

"My dear Rachel, what on earth gives you the impression that I've done something?" she asked genially, but at this moment the sound of a small wet explosion filled the dungeon, which was soon to be accompanied by a chorus of disgruntled and furious wails from the Slytherin, whose cauldron had just spread its contents all over them. Leshia fought the urge to snigger as Snape rushed forward to see what had happened. After glancing at the damage and sending the whinging Slytherins off to the hospital wing to counteract the vast dose of Temper Teaser potion, the sour-faced man peered into the cauldron. After bristling angrily he reached inside and pulled out a small knobbled object, which was very dark in appearance and emitting a strange hissing sound.

"Can anyone tell me," Snape began sounding tremendously calm, and yet appearing so terrifyingly furious. "What this is?" At Leshia's side Katie's hand flew into the air. "Potter?"

"It's a Fire Stone," the girl replied quickly. "They're used when making really big batches of potion, and emit vast amounts of heat when they come into contact with liquids."

"Quite right," Snape continued and he placed the Fire Stone down on the workbench. "So can anyone tell me, why it is incredibly foolish to place one of these in a standard size cauldron?" Once more, Katie was the only one who flung her hand into the air. After an exasperated sigh Snape nodded to her. "Go on then."

"When used in anything smaller than an industrial sized cauldron, the stone heats up the contents far too quickly and…well this happens," Katie explained, beaming with pride at her own knowledge. Snape nodded once more and slowly he turned to look at Leshia, who was still wearing a preciously innocent expression.

"You Miss Malfoy, may join me Friday afternoon after class," he said dangerously, to which Leshia responded with a highly disgruntled expression.

"What?" she managed sounding putout. "But I didn't even go near his cauldron! It's not fair!"

"Neither is coating my classroom in congealed Temper Teaser," Snape shot back. "Now get back to work all of you." The class didn't need telling twice and for the remainder of the lesson Leshia bristled angrily. Of course she had done it, but she had made sure she had done it in such a sneaky way that Snape would not have been able to prove her hand in it. After nosing around the stock cupboard trying to find the mop, she had come across a bag of these stones. Realising the potential of the stones she had taken one and surreptitiously dropped it into the powdered asphodel Allseyer was about to collect for his potion. No one had seen her do it, and she hadn't gone anywhere near the boy's cauldron, so by rights, the teacher had no right to punish her. Her friends agreed with her whole heartedly and by the end of the day they were considering petitioning to the headmaster for her release. Leshia questioned her father about it, but he had barely responded, evidently concerned about something else. Hermione had reacted in a similar fashion and by dinner, Allseyer's words over her parents' marital health were beginning to niggle at the back of her mind.

"Do you think he's right?" she asked her friends as they ambled back to Gryffindor tower, their stomachs bursting with the wonderful food. "About my parents I mean…" Katie wrinkled her brow and shook her head firmly, but Rachel continued to stare forward unwaveringly. "Dad has slept back in his old room a few times. I know, I've seen it all messed up like he'd slept in it a couple of times."

"I'm sure it's nothing, you said your parents always argue a lot," Katie said reassuringly, and this was true. Draco and Hermione were passionate people who always believed they were right, which often meant they got into fierce debates that could go on for days at a time. The subject matter was usually mundane and they always made up. It had been this way as long as Leshia could remember, but this term…Ramble had changed her parents' dynamic somehow. The girl couldn't understand why her mother didn't like the Muggle Studies Professor, she seemed completely enchanting.

"Yeah, but then afterwards they always get all mushy and start kissing and just, yuck," Leshia explained and she scrunched up her face at the thought of her parents' embarrassing public displays of intimacy. "My dad doesn't normally sleep in another room.

"Sometimes parents just do that," Rachel said shrill and forced. The other two turned to stare at her in surprise, reaching the same conclusion: Ron and Lavender were sleeping in separate rooms.

"Rach…" Leshia began sounding terribly sympathetic and concerned, but Rachel shook her head brusquely.

"What I mean is, you know, you hear about parents that do that," she lied, rubbing at her cheek agitatedly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Katie asked comfortingly, which earned her a look of reprove from Leshia; wasn't it quite obvious that Rachel really _didn't_ want to talk about it?

"Talk about what?" Rachel tried light-heartedly, though there was a warning sign of impending anger in her tone. Not accustomed to being the tactful one of the trio, Leshia tried unsuccessfully to head Katie off, to put an end to this conversation before one of them ended up in tears.

"So, on Friday, let's raid the kitchens…" she began, but neither cousin heeded her.

"Rach don't shut me out," Katie was saying with a wounded look on her concerned face. With a sigh of 'here we go again', Leshia darted out from between her friends, not wanting to be in the crossfire when all hell broke loose.

"I'm not shutting you out, I just don't know what you mean," Rachel complained sharply.

"Yes you do, why didn't you tell me your parents are having problems…"

"My parents are _not_ having problems!" Rachel exclaimed furiously. "Stop being such a busybody Katie and leave me alone!" With this the redhead fled from her friends the way they had come, wiping furiously at her eyes to stop the tears from falling, leaving Katie stood with a bewildered expression and Leshia glaring at her pointedly.

"For someone who considers themselves the queen of tact," the smaller girl began, while shaking her head disappointedly. "You royally botched that one up didn't you?"

XXX

Rachel remained in a glum mood all evening, and her feelings only exacerbated Leshia's unease over her own parents' state of relations. Long after curfew had fallen and the girls were tucked up in their beds, Leshia made an exasperated noise, before she flung open her curtains and slipped into her fluffy slippers. She knew she would never be able to sleep unless she found out what was going on. Well aware that she was already treading on this ice with the teachers of the school, she crept from corridor to corridor as silently as a mouse, eager to avoid being caught as she was running out of time in which to fit all her detentions.

As such, it took her twice as long to reach her parents' chambers, which lay adjoined to Hermione's study. A painting of two loved up newlyweds concealed the entrance to their luxurious chambers, which consisted of a master suite, a small second bedroom (which Leshia slept in many a time, whenever their regular family meals dragged on into the night and she couldn't bear the thought of walking back to Gryffindor Tower), a lounge and a small private kitchen cum dining room. The chambers had once been home to Professor Claridge, Hogwarts' finest ever Potions Master, who during his forty-year post had married one of his fellow professors and they had raised their son at the school. In the six months that Hermione and Draco had been living there, they had turned it into their own little home away from home.

In order to reveal the entrance Leshia knew to scratch the groom's foot and after smiling appreciatively the painting swung forward revealing a heavy oak door, which Leshia pushed into, finding herself in her parents' lounge.

"Hello?" she called out, as the room was deserted. Well aware that it was late and that her parents were most likely asleep, Leshia felt she would be reassured if she could merely see them sleeping in the same bed. Their bedroom lay at the far end of the lounge, and so Leshia edged closer to the door, noting that as she did she could hear muffled sounds coming from their room. So they evidently weren't asleep, so what were they doing? Reaching out to grab the door handle, Leshia was suddenly aware that the sound was getting closer and before she could jump out of the way the door swung open and the girl was bowled off her feet by her father storming out.

"Leshia," he exclaimed in surprise, as he bent down and lifted the girl to her feet from under her arm. "What are you doing creeping around?" he demanded sounding a little angry.

"I wasn't creeping," Leshia complained as Hermione appeared looking flustered.

"Leshia darling," she called out with forced jollity. "What's wrong darling can't you sleep?" Her parents were avoiding one another's gaze and Leshia could easily see that they had been arguing…again!

"No," the girl replied truthfully. "Why, what's wrong?" her mother asked her as she led the girl over to the soft settee. Meanwhile Draco had disappeared in the direction of the kitchen to help himself to a well-earned glass of whiskey.

"Are you and dad going to get divorced?" the girl asked meekly, her face contorted into a heartbreakingly vulnerable look.

"Oh sweetheart," Hermione said with a smile, before she pulled the girl into the crook of her arm, squeezing her tightly to her side. "No, you don't have to worry about that."

"So why are you arguing the whole time?" Leshia asked worriedly.

"Well…" Hermione began uneasily as the kitchen door swung open and Draco reappeared looking much calmer, before he dropped down into his favoured armchair and swung his feet onto the coffee table.

"What's wrong with Trouble?"

"She thinks we're going to get a divorce," Hermione said pointedly, fixing her husband an accusing look, which implied all too well that she found him to be to blame.

"Oh Leshia don't be stupid," he exclaimed sounding amused.

"I'm not being stupid, you two keep arguing! What am I supposed to think?" Her parents exchanged a meaningful look, in which Hermione leaned forward a little, trying to urge her husband to tell their daughter what was troubling them. She didn't like leaving the littlest member of their family out of loop, but this was Draco's call and he wasn't budging.

"Look just because…" Draco trailed off, unsure of how to explain the cause of the problem without revealing too much, which would undoubtedly trigger the girl's curiosity, which in turn would inevitably lead to her finding out what her father was trying keep hidden from her. "Just take it from me alright? Your mother and I are fine," he finally finished, when he came to the conclusion that Leshia was too clever for him to put it simply and she would figure it out, so he didn't even try. Leshia looked putout and hurt to be excluded in this manner.

"Your father's had a word with Severus," Hermione suddenly exclaimed, trying to bring a smile back to her daughter's face.

"Really?" The girl's face had split into a gigantic grin as she looked at her father for confirmation.

"From what he told me, I don't doubt that you _are_ to blame," Draco said amusedly. "But by the sounds of it that Allseyer boy had it coming, so I managed to talk Severus out of your punishment."

"Oh thank you!" Leshia exclaimed gleefully and she lunged at her father, clambering awkwardly onto his lap – she may have been small, but she was no longer a child – and giving him a firm hug.

"Oh get off me you great big lump," Draco complained fondly, before pushing his daughter off his sore legs and into the crook of his arm.

"I'm not fat," Leshia countered happily, feeling exhilarated by the fact that her parents were in fact not on the verge of separation and that her father had wheedled her out of her punishment.

"Oh yeah, what's this then?" her father teased reaching out and taking hold of the rolls her thick jumper had created round her waist. Leshia giggled gleefully and pushed his hand away.

"You're such an idiot," she laughed fondly.

"Me?" Draco managed, pretending to be highly insulted and he poked her in the ribs.

"Yes you!" Leshia teased before she jumped at her father, poking her long thin fingers into his side at the exact spot that made her father squirm. Over their years of rough housing and play wrestling, Leshia had grown to know the one spot her usually non-ticklish father hated to be tickled. At her touch, the young man instantly regressed into a laughing, manic, writhing youngster once more, and after several minutes of being unable to retaliate, he finally managed to control his discomfort and take hold of his daughter, returning her attack tenfold. As Leshia squealed with laughter to the extent that tears were running down her cheek, the pair of them were momentarily startled out of their game by a flash.

"What was that?" Leshia managed as she wiped the tears from her cheeks. Draco though was grinning over at Hermione, who was holding a camera in her hands.

"Uh oh," he said ominously, before he placed his daughter on her feet and ambled over to his wife, taking the camera from her hands and placing it on the bureau in the corner. "Your mother's feeling broody again," he told their daughter, who had flopped back down onto the settee, before he wrapped his arms around her waist and leant his forehead against hers. "Are you feeling left out?" he asked with a charming smile, before he teasingly squeezed her sides.

"No," Hermione laughed, happy that the tension was gone.

"Are you two going to be all lovey dovey now?" the girl on the settee asked them, her face contorted into a perfectly disgruntled look. It was quite adorable, and as such her parents turned to look at her with matching doting smiles.

"Are you going to stay here tonight?" Hermione asked the young girl, who was looking rather comfortable lounged out on the settee. After a moment's thought Leshia shrugged her shoulders.

"Sure," she said simply, causing a big smile to spread across Hermione's face.

"Great," the young mother beamed. "I'll ask Tally to fetch your uniform."

"Tell Hermione, you _tell _the elf what to do." Hermione shot her husband a reproachful look, but Draco was grinning at her adoringly.

"Just for that, you may tell your dratted houself what to do," Hermione told him, before dropping next to Leshia on the settee. The young man rolled his eyes fondly, but did as he was told, summoning the houself collect his daughter's uniform for the morning, while Hermione listened to Leshia regaling her with her most recent adventures.

"Satisfied?" Draco asked as he walked over carrying a small pile of folded clothes. Hermione beamed at him.

"Thank you."

"Your most certainly not welcome," Draco replied cheerfully, before he dropped down on Leshia's other side, wrestling the girl under his arm. "So you, we had something to ask you."

"Really?" Leshia asked interestedly.

"What do you want for Christmas?"

XXX

The week passed by quickly, and within no time it seemed the train was pulling into Kings Cross station where a hoard of excitable parents were waiting to see their offspring off the train. Waiting amongst the crowds Ron, Harry and Ginny stood being jostled this way and that. They had been invited to the Malfoys' for dinner and had decided to make a day out of it, going into London to do some Christmas shopping. For weeks Harry and Ginny had been trying to distract Ron from the crisis his marriage was facing. The young man would more often than not end up staying in their guest bedroom, than going home to face his shamble of a marriage. The impending grief Christmas would bring to his broken home was bringing Ron down. How on Earth was he going to pretend to his children than everything was perfectly normal when he and Lavender couldn't even managed a civil conversation with one another?

"There's Michael!" Ginny suddenly yelped excitedly and sure enough after a brief goodbye to his friends, Ginny and Harry's son pushed through the crowds and was instantly enveloped in his mother's arms. "Oh I've missed you so much," the young mother told her son, and she kissed his mop of thick black hair firmly.

"Mum," the boy grumbled fondly. "Everybody's watching!"

"Well let them watch," Ginny chuckled. "Then they can see how well loved you are."

"Yeah, but that's not cool," Michael explained as he finally pulled free and fixed his mother a charming smile.

"Oh give over," Ginny laughed and she ruffled her son's thick hair, before the boy was pulled into another hug by his father.

"Mum! Dad!" Moments later Ginny and Harry's other child had forced her way through the bustling happy families and had lunged at her mother, hugging her firmly.

"Oh my darling," Ginny whispered with a joyous smile on her face.

"God, you've grown again!" Harry remarked at his wife's side, waiting in line to receive his hug. Meanwhile a rather subdued Rachel had made her way over to the group, with a supportive Leshia at her side.

"Hi dad," the girl said feeling the tears stinging her eyes. Ron quickly pulled the girl into a hug, eager to stave her tears, well aware that this would no doubt mortify her in front of her friends.

"I'm so happy your back," he told her softly, and he meant it so very much. Rachel was the only one of the brood that Ron felt he could confide him; they understood one another so very well. Ria, Rachel's eight-year-old sister was an almost carbon copy of the girl in looks and personality, and she had been a great support to the young man during the term, but he couldn't properly talk to her, she was far too young to understand him.

With the arrival of Hermione and Draco, reigning in the last of the brood, Hermia, the small party set off down the snow-covered road towards the Malfoys' townhouse. Tally had apparated ahead to light the fire in the kitchen – Hermione's preferred entertaining room – and to air the house before the family got home. It felt good to be back and after abandoning most of the trunks in the hall, all the children helped lift Leshia's up to her room while their parents opened a bottle of champagne in the kitchen, to celebrate the beginning of the holidays.

The sound of the children's laughter wafted down the stairs brought smiles to the five friends, while they remembered their own childhoods of fun and adventure. As usual, their conversation soon digressed into comparing and remembering stories from their own Hogwarts days. A popular recurring topic was the Yule Ball, which always resulted in Ron glowing furiously over his behaviour towards Hermione.

"I didn't fancy you," he complained sounding intensely humiliated, prompting his friends to roll about with laughter, clearly enjoying his discomfort.

"Sure Ron," Ginny teased. "Whatever you say." In truth, Ron's feelings for Hermione had come to a complete and abrupt standstill the moment he first saw her and Draco engaged in an intimate conversation down the Leaky Cauldron one evening. His outrage that she could feel anything more than animosity towards _Malfoy_, permanently called an end to his silent adoration of the young woman. Harry and Ron had never made it easy for the couple during their campaign against Voldemort, but after the war everybody was too worn out and traumatised to hold childhood grudges.

"Hey, at least I didn't show up with that ghastly Pansy Parkinson in tow," Ron suddenly blurted out, to direct the attention away from himself and onto a more worthy subject: the animosity may have gradually dissipated, but the competitiveness still remained.

"Yeah what did you ever see in her Malfoy?" Harry piped up with a wicked grin. Draco rolled his eyes in fond exasperation, tired that they had got back onto _this_ subject, especially considering the events on Halloween.

"Oh my God I can't believe I forgot to tell you," Hermione suddenly exclaimed with a mischievous expression on her face.

"Oh no don't," Draco groaned.

"What? Tell us?" Ginny laughed, causing Draco to get to his feet and busy himself by the liquor cabinet. Hermione proceeded to tell the others all about Pansy's embarrassing pass at Draco, much to their amusement. By the end of the story Draco had reappeared with a slight colour in his cheeks.

"Here," he said firmly, placing a tumbler each in front of Harry and Ron, before he sat down with his own glass and a bottle of whisky.

"Oh no, you're not going to start on that already are you?" Hermione chuckled fondly, realising that Draco would probably handle the drink well, but that it always seemed to turn Harry and Ron into singing, mischievous, drunkards.

"I've earned it after that story," Draco complained with a smile, before he filled up the three glasses. "Bottoms up!"

XXX

The afternoon gradually became evening and while leaving their husbands to the bottle of whiskey, Ginny and Hermione soon got dinner on. An hour later and the delicious smells of the roast brought the children down to find out when dinner was ready, just in time for them to set the table.

"Um dad? You're going to have to move," Leshia told her father, her brow furrowed in slight disapproval, why were they all giggling so much? She had never known her father to giggle.

"Sorry," Draco slurred out dramatically and he climbed to his feet, lifting the girl up and swinging her round, before placing her on her feet again. The men cleared out to allow the children to set the table, while Ginny briefly apparated home to collect some _Soberupper_ potion to sort out the wayward men. By the time the potion started to kick (in good time, as the men had started an exuberant fencing competition in the lounge with Draco's priceless antique swords – much to the amusement of their children who jumped around cheering on their respective father) Hermione was serving up.

"Come on you lot," she called through in much amusement, triggering a stampede as the men and children rushed through to fill their empty stomachs. Leshia and her friends dropped down on the far end of the large old wooden table, placing Hermia and Michael between themselves and their parents. The food was delicious and for at least ten minutes nobody could manage more than a sentence of conversation, as they were too preoccupied with gorging themselves. However, slowly, when the plates started to empty, a banter built up.

"So you invited Fred and George, but you couldn't invite me? Girls, I'm hurt," Ron exclaimed, bringing his hand to his chest in feigned-heartbreak.

"They invited themselves," Rachel laughed.

"Yeah, but still, it sounds brilliant," Harry complained with a smile, and he wasn't lying. "I can't believe Joanne Tayler showed up."

"I can't believe that she showed up and kissed Mr Longbottom," Leshia countered, shuddering at the thought. This was news to the adults, who were quite surprised that Neville could do such a thing to his wife Sofia. Uncomfortable with the way this conversation was going, Ron quickly asked,

"So who else was there?" The children proceeded to list the esteemed guests who had graced their party with their celebrity presences, but this is where things suddenly turned decidedly frosty.

"Oh Viktor Krum was there too," Michael suddenly piped up.

"Really?" Harry asked sounding extremely surprised, but his answer never came as up at the top of the table Draco had started choking. Hermione turned to help him while Ginny rushed to get a glass of water; all in all the adults' general preoccupation allowed the children to target the young boy with fierce looks. Sat at his side, Katie delivered the boy a crippling blow to the foot.

"It was a Viktor Krum impersonator," Leshia said loudly over her father's subsiding coughs.

"Yeah," Rachel added uncertainly. "I mean, why would Viktor Krum want to come to a kids party?" No more was said on the matter, but Leshia knew this was not the last she would hear about this. Draco's manners were the only thing that stood in the way of his interrogation of his daughter; he could wait. Dinner seemed to go on for hours, and gradually moved through to the lounge (while the children escaped up to Leshia's room). It was when Hermione noticed Ron snoozing softly in his armchair that she called an end to the evening.

"Kids! Lets go!" the call came from the hall down below, and up in Leshia's room she exchanged a worried look with her friends; this was the moment they had been dreading.

"I still say you should run away mate," Rachel said with a comforting, yet decidedly grim smile.

"Don't be silly Rachel," Katie admonished.

"Yeah," Rachel sighed. "He'd probably find you."

"Oh shut up," Leshia laughed and she hugged her friends goodbye – having decided she would not leave the protection her room offered her. Michael apologised profusely for the hundredth time and headed downstairs feeling decidedly sorry for himself. After collecting their trunks the parents helped the children lift them into the fireplace, before they flooed back to their respective homes.

"Thank you for the wonderful evening," Ginny told Hermione genially, Draco had already started towards the stairs. "Good luck with those two," the redhead added softly with a mischievous smile, before she stepped dropped her floo powder crying out, "Potter Manor." Hermione sighed contentedly, before she walked out to the hall to see Draco was hotfooting it up the stairs.

"Don't blow up," she warned him fondly. She didn't get a response and after rolling her eyes she returned to the kitchen to set the dishes to task washing themselves. Once he reached the landing Draco burst straight into his daughter's room without knocking to find she was sat on her bed, tucked into her mountain of cushions, pretending very much to be reading a magazine.

"Krum?" he demanded with raised eyebrows.

"It wasn't really him, he was just an impersonator," Leshia lied and she flung her magazine aside. Draco shook his head wildly and started to pace the room a little.

"Oh no, you're going to have to do much better than that my girl, I want the truth!" he said firmly, before coming to a halt at Leshia's desk and sitting down on it, fixing the girl with a forceful glare, daring her to try and lie once more. The girl sighed heavily, realising that there was no way out of this.

"Yes it was Krum, I invited him," she said softly. Draco shut his eyes tightly; hearing it from his daughter's own mouth was ten times worse, and for a moment he was too angry to speak.

"Why?" he managed eventually, in a shaky tone, indicative that he was on the verge of exploding.

"Because, I wanted to ask him what you wouldn't tell me." For a few moments Draco opened and closed his mouth, his body trembling slightly, but it would seem he couldn't find the words to do his anger justice, so after making an incredibly frustrated sound he stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind himself as he went.

Leshia spent the entire night worrying over what her father was going to do in the morning. She barely slept and on several occasions she had been rigid with fear as the sound of pacing outside her door indicated that Draco was back, but he didn't come in. Only once did her door open and after pretending to be asleep Leshia found out her fear was unfounded, as it was her mother, coming to check on her. After stroking her daughter's hair from her face, Hermione left her to get back to sleep, before trying to pacify her furious husband.

He didn't listen to reason, nor would he accept that Leshia was curious and that they ought to have told her in the first place as it was clear she was going to find out by her own means in the end. As the sun rose to reveal a fresh dusting of snow, Leshia changed and headed downstairs to find her mother eating a slice of toast and examining the _Daily Prophet _at the large kitchen table.

"Morning," Leshia said softly, her eyes darting about, anxious that Draco was going to jump out from behind one of the cabinets and interrogate her. Hermione looked up quickly with a reassuring smile.

"Good morning darling," she replied warmly.

"Where's dad?"

"He's in his study, waiting for you," Hermione told her daughter. Leshia's face fell and she sighed heavily. "He's very upset with you," her mother was continuing, though she was looking sympathetic as she did so. "But I…well, I would have done this same thing." Leshia's eyes went wide and it came as some comfort to know her mother was on her side, but that wouldn't help her face her father. "Go on, you'd better go see him." Leshia nodded and retraced her steps back into the hall. Draco's study lay through an archway that passed under the stairs, which led into a dark corridor. The archway lay in darkness now, and Leshia felt loathe to walk down it, but she had to take responsibility for her actions. Her father's study door was ajar, so after inhaling slowly to reassure herself, she pushed the door open.

"Dad?" she uttered to her father, who was stood with his back turned, looking for a book in his vast floor to ceiling bookcase.

"Sit down," he told her without turning round. Leshia quickly complied and sunk down into one of the large chairs sat before her father's desk. Everything about this room frightened her, from the dark wood to the large ominous furniture. She had never enjoyed being in this room, and it had little to do with the fact that she always seemed to be in trouble every time she stepped foot in the dark stuffy study. "I can't believe how stupid you've been," Draco complained and he sounded petulant. "I didn't want you to find out…"

"But I don't see why," Leshia complained. "It's nothing terrible, what's so bad about mum and Krum having a thing while you were missing?"

"Because…" Draco began angrily and he finally turned around and took his seat. "Look that's not the point, the point is you did something after I flat-out forbade you to!"

"No," Leshia corrected. "You told me not to talk to you about it, you didn't tell me I couldn't ask him!" Draco stared her in the eye darkly for a moment.

"I thought it was obvious," he finally said softly, though no less dangerously.

"Did you not want me to find out because you're ashamed of how you acted?" Leshia asked, realising that she was already in trouble, so she may as well get some answers. From the look of guilt and anger that crossed her father's face, it was clear she had hit the nail on the head.

"It was a long time ago," Draco complained, feeling he had to explain. "And I was in love…and you were on the way…I don't expect you to understand..."

"But I do understand," Leshia interrupted. "I'm happy you did what you did, you're my dad! I wouldn't want Krum to raise me, I can't understand half of what he says!" Despite himself Draco let out a snort of laughter. "I'm sorry I went behind your back, but this is me we're talking about. The best way to get me to do something is to tell me I can't do it."

"That's nothing to be proud of," Draco managed with an amused smile.

"You're the same," Leshia complained.

"Yes I know," her father sighed and finally the crease in his brow disappeared as he relaxed a little. "I still can' believe how devious you are."

"Just a little," his daughter countered with a meek smile.

"Alright then, you're forgiven," Draco sighed and he climbed to his feet. "Now come on, your mother is insisting that I take you to buy a Christmas tree from one of those awful muggle stands down the road." The change within Leshia was instantaneous and she jumped around her father in excitement. Her excitement didn't diminish as they dressed in their warmest clothes and walked down the road to a small park, which had temporarily turned into a Christmas tree market. For what seemed like hours the girl rushed from one to the next until finally Draco took her by the hood on her coat to stop her from running off and told her to pick one within the next ten seconds or they were going home. After an adequate tree had been chosen Draco paid and then they were faced with the task of getting the damn thing home.

"Can't I just levitate it?" Draco asked his daughter sounding thoroughly fed up. Leshia giggled and shook her head claiming the muggles would probably suspect something if a Christmas tree started floating down the road by its own accord. So after a lot of grumbling Draco took hold of the base, leaving the lighter top end for his daughter, and together they carried it home.

The Christmas tree was only the start of the decorating, and together Leshia and Hermione went a little overboard in decorating the town house. Most of it was tasteful, but Draco had to vehemently argue with his wife over the model Father Christmas she wanted to place in the hall.

Hermione wanted her first Christmas back with her family to be perfect and as such went to great lengths to make sure the house looked perfect. After the family's first shopping trip into Diagon Alley she had purchased most of her presents, and then the next day after a trip into the muggle highstreets, she had finished her shopping. The following day an array of beautifully wrapped gifts lay glistening temptingly under the tree, and Leshia couldn't pass them by without shaking one or two of them to see what was inside. Draco and Leshia were much more delayed in their Christmas shopping, so much so, that as Christmas Eve finally arrived, they were making their way down to Diagon Alley to fit in some last minute shopping.

"We've only got two hours," Draco told his daughter as he tapped the wall revealing the bustling street beyond. "Your mother's meeting us here for lunch." With this they went their separate ways. After purchasing several incredibly boring books for her mother, which she would no doubt find terribly fascinating, and a funny book for her father entitled 'So You Married a Muggle…what to expect' as a play on her mother's muggle descent and Draco's dislike for them, the girl headed for the sweet shop to buy herself a treat. It would seem however; that a treat was the last thing she was about to receive.

"Oy, blood traitor!" a horrid voice called out behind her and moments later Leshia was clapped about the back of her head.

"Hey!" she complained angrily as Damian Allseyer and a smaller boy, no doubt his younger brother Deacon (who Leshia had heard was even worse than his older brother), appeared in her line of vision. Both wore incredibly nasty expressions on their pointed features.

"What's this?" the older of the two demanded mockingly as he took out the book Leshia had bought for her father.

"Give that back!" Leshia complained angrily and she tried to snatch it back, but Allseyer was in the mood for games, and he jumped back, taking the book out of her reach.

"Spreading your blood-traitor ideas are you?" the boy cackled nastily. "It'll never catch on, most wizards wouldn't dream of sullying their blood lines with filth like you."

"I mean it Allseyer, give that back or you'll regret it," Leshia hissed angrily.

"Oh will I?" It would seem, that he did in fact regret it, as in response to his taunt Leshia lashed out with her foot, catching the young man squarely between his legs. He doubled over in pain, enabling Leshia to take back to the book.

"Get her!" the crippled boy ordered his younger brother, who turned on Leshia with a cruel grin. Fearing he was just as able as his older brother in delivering pain, Leshia turned and ran down the first escape route she came across: Knockturn Alley. By now Damian Allseyer had scrambled back to his feet and both boys were in pursuit. Leshia had never been down Knockturn Alley, and though she was fascinated by the dingy little shops that lined the street, she didn't have time to stop and inspect them. Not knowing her way soon turned out to be problematic, as she reached a dead end and turned around to find that the Allseyer brothers were closing in on her. Things couldn't have seemed worse when suddenly a cold hand snaked onto her shoulder, causing Leshia to spin around and find herself looking up at a very tall man, with greying long silver hair and a sullen face. She instantly recognised him. The pair stared one another in the eye for several moments until finally the hooded man spoke,

"You don't belong here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_End of Part IV_

_Thank you so much for the reviews! _

_If you haven't already, go check out my profile page for sketches of the family, and some other fun stuff! Go now, do it :) Also, I made a forum for the Generations Series, so if you have questions, suggestions, criticism…you can go there now as well as reviewing. Please visit it, as of yet it's just me having one-sided conversations…with myself! I'm being such a loner, go there right _now_ and play with me! But also please review :) :) they make me happy and more inclined to write! God, I bet you're thinking I'm the most demanding fanfic writer ever :) Ah well…that's just me I'm afraid. I demand lots, but try to give lots in return (hence the epic chapters)_

_Let's make a deal, the first person to respond to one of my topics in the forum gets to give me five lines I have to put into the next chapter! Sound fair?_


	5. Part Five

**Generations: Tales of the Last Stand**

**Part IV**

"You," Leshia finally managed, as she looked into her grandfather's cold eyes. His face had aged since the picture she once possessed had been taken, but the sharpness of his features and that long silvery hair were unmistakable: Lucius Malfoy was standing before her.

"I see you know who I am," the deep posh voice came once more and Leshia nodded quickly in response, her expression darkening and turning hostile. By now the Allseyer brothers had reached the end of the alleyway and were glaring furiously at Leshia and this man they didn't know.

"Stand aside old man," Damian Allseyer ordered, and for a moment Leshia was loath to admit that she was impressed by the level of boldness her nemesis was showing; had their places been switched, she would not walk up to a hooded man down the end of Knockturn Alley and demand he step aside from a child he clearly knew.

"Excuse me?" Lucius demanded sounding quite surprised.

"I've got unfinished business with _that_ girl," Allseyer snapped back, fixing Leshia a furious glare.

"Well it's going to have to wait," Lucius retorted sharply.

"No," Allseyer corrected, turning to look back at the man angrily. "It's not. Do you have any idea who I am?" Clearly by the way the boy was talking, it would seem his family name carried a lot of respect down these parts, if this was how he was accustomed to speaking to the riffraff down Knockturn Alley.

"No," Lucius managed icily and he was so angry he let go of Leshia's shoulder, enabling her to skitter away a little from his formidable figure. "Do you have any idea who _I _am?"

"Some dried up wannabe," Allseyer retorted angrily, and at his side his brother started to snigger. Feeling entirely furious now Lucius reached down to the cuff of his sleeve and ripped it back, revealing a faded tattoo on a gaunt-looking arm. The boys stared at it in surprise, looking up at the real live Death Eater with slight fear now. The last of Voldemort's true followers had been extinguished long before they could remember, and the only Dark Mark Damian (his brother Deacon could not even attest to this) had seen was on the arm of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor: Draco Malfoy.

"Who are you?" the younger boy asked sounding reverent, but Lucius ignored his question, instead he approached the older of the two, fixing him a hard cold stare.

"What were you saying?"

"N-n-nothing sir," Damian Allseyer stammered and he darted backwards a little, grabbing at Deacon's shoulder to drag him back. "We were just leaving…" With this the two boys turned and fled back the way they had come, leaving Lucius smiling in a satisfied manner.

"Now then," he said firmly, turning around to face his granddaughter…only to find the corner she had backed into moments ago deserted. Lucius glanced up the alleyway and saw the young girl creeping out of the shadows to find out whether the coast was clear, before she darted into the crowds. She must have sneaked away while Lucius was preoccupied with the boys. Her sly escape caused the old man to laugh darkly. "Very well my girl, flee. I will find you."

XXX

Leshia ran straight back to the Leaky Cauldron, where she bought a pitcher of pumpkin juice and dropped down one of the secluded booths in the corner. Entirely unsure of what had just happened, only one frightening thought seemed certain: her grandfather was far from dead and he was after her. Why on earth he would try to take her alive was beyond her, because as far as she was aware he wanted her dead, along with the rest of her family. Had he not tried to kill her once already?

"No," she suddenly exclaimed in surprise. "He hasn't!" Scrunching up her face into an expression of complete frustration, she tried to fight the memories that were flooding back to her.

_Sitting on the upstairs landing, her small legs dangling between the balusters of the handrail, seven-year-old Leshia watched the door, as she was wont to do every day at six-o clock; Draco was due home. She had spent the day at muggle school, and ever since she had come home she had been watching the clock, waiting for him to walk in the front door. He would no doubt have very little time to play with her, and would most likely watch her eat and then send her to bed soon thereafter, but this precious little time with her father meant everything to the little girl. Whereas she had been expecting a key to turn in the lock, she was quite surprised at the sound of a loud rapping knock on the heavy door._

"_I'll get it!" she called instinctively, and after lifting herself to her feet with the aid of the balusters she raced down the stairs, recoiling a little as her little sock clad feet touched the cold slate tiles. A niggling feeling at the back of her mind was urging her not to open the door, but soon her hand was on the large handle and she had swung the door open. "Yes?" she asked the tall cloaked man that stood on the doorstep, thinking he looked rather familiar, though she couldn't put her finger on it. Without responding to the little girl Lucius Malfoy pushed past her into the hall and shut the door firmly beside himself. Aware that this was most peculiar Leshia started to feel a little afraid. "Tally!" she called out and started backing away from the silver-haired man._

"_Do not be afraid, I have not come to hurt you," he said in a deep imposing voice._

"_What do you want?" Leshia demanded in response, her young face morphing into an adorably defiant expression: ever the Malfoy. Her feistiness pleased the ageing man before her, though she couldn't know why._

"_I have come to take you away," he told her simply, as though this were a simple matter she need not concern herself with._

"_But I don't want to come with you, I want to stay here with my dad," the little girl complained sounding upset._

"_I'm afraid you don't have a choice in the matter," Lucius countered with a dark smile. "I want you."_

"_Tally!" Leshia cried out once more, and she started backing away towards the stairs, wondering when her daddy was going to come home to rescue her from this madman. Hearing the girl's second cry, the busy head houself finally decided to see what the matter was._

"_What is it Miss Malfoy?" the cantankerous little green elf demanded as she appeared round the kitchen archway. The moment her eyes fell on Lucius however, her face hardened into a furious expression._

"_You must not be here!" she cried out, raising her hands to perform Elf-magic Lucius had no power to stop, so he dove out of her line of fire, running for the door at the far end of the hall, which would lead him into the dining room adjoining the kitchen._

"_Go Miss Leshia! Hide!" Tally ordered, before she darted back into the kitchen to head Lucius off. The little seven-year-old was far too frightened to move, and she stood rooted to the spot as the crashing sounds of a struggle wafted out from the kitchen. "Miss Leshia run!" With this the sound of struggle died away and Leshia knew her valiant rescuer had not been successful._

"_Where are you?" the man's raspy voice came; evidently his run in with the houself's magic had weakened him severely. And moments later his tall lumbering figure skidded into the hall, taking out his wand as he approached the girl. "There you are," he added with a satisfied smile. _

"_No!" Leshia cried out and she backed into the stairs in terror. "I didn't do it! No!" The stairs suddenly came up behind her and she tumbled onto her back, before throwing her hands over her head to protect herself from a blow that never came. After the sounds of struggle brought her momentarily from her frightened cowering, Leshia dared to take down her arms to find the old man had gone._

"_Leave this house!" the sound of Wiggy, Tally's husband, cried out angrily, before a hissing voice countered this with,_

"Avada Kedavra_." A green light filled the doorway and Leshia didn't hang around to find out whether the kindly Houself had managed to head off the ghastly man. She jumped to her feet and pelted up the stairs to the landing, where she banged every door wide open to distract the man from her real hiding place: her father's bedroom. She wasn't normally allowed in his room unless he was in there, but realising he would probably forego this rule if he found out her life was in danger, Leshia charged in, sliding around on the hardwood floor in her socks. The sound of heavy footsteps on the stairs alerted Leshia to the man's eminent approach, so she quickly dropped to her knees and pulled herself under the bed._

"_Where are you?" the horrible man's piercing call came, causing the girl to push herself back into the wall, and for tears to spring from her wide eyes, splashing onto the wooden floorboard with a pattering sound. "Where are you my precious? Why are you afraid of your own grandpa?" The little girl's jaw dropped in exaggerated shock; so that is why she recognised his features so…they were her father's. Her grandfather? She had been told he was dead, that a long time ago he had perished in the Battle of the Ages. She had been lied to. "Come here," a harsh whisper ordered into the dark room and Leshia watched as a pair of muddy boots closed in on her position. They seemed to be lingering, as though their owner knew the location of his prey, but just as he was about to swoop down and claim her, a muffled sound down below warned the old Death Eater that the man of the house was home; and rather surprised to find that the little girl who normally waited so eagerly to greet him was absent from her usual spot on the landing._

"_Hello?" Draco's suspicious call came from below, as the young man took in the rumpled rug and the strange smell of singed hair in the air. From her hiding place under the bed Leshia closed her eyes tightly, desperately wanting to call out to her father, to alert him to her grandfather's presence. The boots promptly turned around and her grandfather left the room. Only when the sounds of his heavy footsteps on the stairs met Leshia's ears, did she dare to clamber out of her hiding place and dart towards the door._

"_What have you done with my child?" her father's angry cry came from the hall, but she didn't stop to listen, as she darted into the parlour across the landing where an ageing dumbwaiter stood. She had often been told off for playing in it by the harassed houselves, but this was an emergency, so after carefully lowering herself down into the dining room down below._

"_How dare you break into my home!" her father was saying now, but still Leshia crept on, edging round into the kitchen where a very stunned Tally lay petrified on the floor._

"_Tally," Leshia whispered in surprise, before she carried on stealthily, reaching out to take down a jar of pebbles she had collected while on a trip to the beach. Armed with this weapon she peered round the arched doorway into the hall and found her grandfather holding out his wand aimed squarely at his son, who had just walked in from work and evidently had not been given the time to take off his long thick coat. Without thinking Leshia took aim at her grandfather and lobbed the heavy jar through the air at him. Her childish throw missed and landed short of his feet on the slate tile, cracking it instantly._

"Ponut quiesco_!" Lucius cried out, wielding his wand now at the little girl standing in the doorway._

"Protego_!" Draco countered desperately, and the spell bounced off Leshia and hit the wall above her. "_Expelliarmus_!" Draco added promptly and Lucius' wand flew to his hand, giving Leshia the time to run to his side and dive into the safety of his coat, peering out from behind his leg at her grandfather, safe in the knowledge that her father would protect her now._

"_Now you listen father," Draco exclaimed furiously_

"_I am your father no longer you traitorous coward!" Lucius countered sounding beside himself with fury. His assault hit a nerve with his son, who twitched violently to one side._

"_I am _not_ a coward!" the younger man bellowed with such anger that his seven-year-old daughter started to tremble; never before had she heard her father express such hostility…it was terrifying. "You are to leave this place sir, and if you ever return I will kill you myself!" _

"_Coward," Lucius taunted with a sly smile. "You don't have the courage to finish what you started do you boy?"_

"_Quite the contrary," Draco spat. "You're finished. You're a marked man; you have no friends left as they have all been killed! Where will you run? You will get caught and then those you wronged will bring justice down on you."_

"_And yet you cannot do so yourself," Lucius jeered darkly, his lip curling up into a snarl. _

"_Why won't you kill me boy, show some backbone!"_

"_I will not kill a broken man," Draco uttered. For a moment Lucius looked so furious Leshia was afraid his head was going to explode, but then he smiled wildly, giving his face the impression of one gone quite mad. "Go, get out of my house!"_

"_I'll never be gone," Lucius whispered hoarsely. "I will get my revenge, I will take from you everything you have taken from me. I will take from you the things that matter the most and have them for myself." At this he looked down into the depths of his son's coat and met his granddaughter's worried gaze, causing a wicked smile to form on his snarling face. "You have brought shame to my family, but no matter, I will find a more suitable heir." In an instant Draco knew what his father was suggesting, and the thought of it caused him to raise his wand-hand so quickly it was as though it had apparated into position._

"_No!" he roared out angrily, pulling his daughter to his side with his other hand so firmly that Leshia uttered a sound of pain. "You will never have her! Never!" The young man's hand was shaking with the restraint he was having to force upon himself. He would have gladly killed his father in this moment, to prevent him from ever taking his precious child, but he had not the evil to do so…he couldn't kill an unarmed broken man…he couldn't. Lucius could see his son's struggle and he cackled darkly._

"_You haven't the nerve to stop me," he hissed and started towards the door, while Draco edged to the side of the hall, keeping Leshia firmly clamped to his side. "I will be back," Lucius said at the door and after gazing once more into his granddaughter's eyes he fled into the night, leaving his son shaking in his wake._

Leshia closed her eyes tightly as the full memory of that day dawned on her. So her grandfather was after _her_? He had failed six years ago and now he was back to finish the job. She was in terrible danger!

"Leshia?" The young girl's eyes darted up to her mother's concerned face. "What's wrong darling has the wall done something to offend you?" Her mother was smiling.

"Huh?" Leshia uttered in confusion.

"Well it's just you're glaring at it so ferociously," Hermione chuckled and she sat down beside the girl with a glass of gillywater in hand. Leshia managed the briefest of smiles before she returned once more to her silent reverie. "Leshia what's the matter?" Hermione persisted, seeing now that her daughter's staring at not merely been the product of daydreaming as she had initially believed, and that something was indeed wrong.

"Nothing," Leshia lied all too easily, and for the next fifteen minutes she skirted round the topic, remaining frustratingly silent. By the time Draco arrived with several packages in tow, and with a well-earned tumbler of whiskey in his hand, Hermione was quite frustrated with her young daughter.

"What's the matter with you two?" Draco asked light-heartedly, before he took a swig of his whiskey, enjoying briefly the sensation of it warming his insides.

"Your daughter is being secretive," Hermione told him, a little hint of annoyance creeping into her tone. Draco frowned inquisitively.

"Oh? Why, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Leshia complained exasperatedly, though she did fix her father with a suspicious look. She had been wondering for quite some time now why she hadn't remembered the run in with her grandfather until now, and the only possible conclusion she could come up with was that her father had used a memory charm on her, which she felt incredibly put out by.

"Stop it," Draco chuckled somewhat firmly. "What have I done?"

"Nothing," the girl repeated softly, her tone incredibly icy. After looking to his wife with an eyebrow raised in confusion, Draco shrugged his shoulders and decided he wouldn't bother trying to decipher his daughter's mood; she was after all a teenager now, perhaps these mood swings just sort of came with the territory. Lunch was a subdued affair on Leshia's part, though her parents enjoyed themselves thoroughly. Finally they returned home through the snow and as soon as they walked in Leshia made for the stairs.

"You'd better get changed misery guts, we're going in half an hour," Hermione told her daughter with a fond smile.

"Fine," the girl grumbled, already halfway up the stairs. Once in her room she dropped her carrier bag on her bed, before she ambled over to her grand wardrobe. When she was younger, in the wake of her mother's disappearance she and Draco had painted it together, and as such it bore the childish paintings of various animals, and many depictions of Hermione. The girl had already planned what she was going to wear, so without further ado she took out the black sparkly trousers and pulled them on…

"No way!" she exclaimed in amazement as she stared at the inch of bony ankle visible below the ends of her trousers. Still beaming with excitement, she ran through to her parents' room and burst in without knocking to find Draco in the process of getting undressed and her mother wrapping presents.

"Leshia close your eyes," Hermione ordered quickly as she tried to cover up the gift she had been wrapping. The girl had not seen it as she was far too excited about her recent revelation.

"I've grown!" she announced proudly.

"No you haven't you titch," Draco chuckled. Leshia though rushed forward, still with her hand over her eyes and instantly collided with the bed, resulting in Draco bending over in a fit of laughter.

"You can look now you silly girl," Hermione said fondly and Leshia promptly rushed round the side of the bed to show off the patch of olive skin visible beneath her trousers.

"Look," she said proudly and both her parents leaned closer, trying to see what the fuss was about.

"I'll have to have a word with Tally, we can't have her shrinking your clothes now can we?" Her father was winding her up, something that caused Leshia to cross her arms petulantly.

"Come on, let's measure you against the door," Hermione urged, eager to curb her daughter's temper now she had finally snapped out of her last mood. "You, behave," she told her husband and playfully slapped his arm. Draco and Hermione's door had long served as a measuring post for their only child. The pale wood was marked in staggers with thin pencil lines accompanied by dates, which chronicled the girl's growth. Arguably there was a large chunk missing from the years when Draco had forgot to do it, but Hermione's return had soon brought a return of the measurements. So Leshia stood now, a very proud expression on her face as Hermione balanced the pencil against her head to mark up her latest measurement.

"Can I move now?" she asked eagerly and her amused mother nodded. The girl quickly spun around and both mother and daughter saw with immense satisfaction that indeed Leshia had grown at least an inch this term. "There!" Leshia crowed proudly. "I _told_ you I'd grown!"

"I don't believe you," Draco countered fondly, still trying to wind the girl up, but this just resulted in Leshia dragging him over by the hand to see her momentous achievement.

"You must have measured it wrong, here, let me have a go," Draco told his wife and he reached for the pencil, but she playfully slapped his hand away.

"Oh give over," she laughed genially, before turning on their daughter. "We're very proud of you darling." Leshia beamed at her before she rushed back into her room to change into something else. Fifteen minutes later, and the young girl stood admiring herself in her mirror with a beaming smile on her face. After abandoning the hope of finding some trousers that would fit, she opted for a knee length skirt and a beautiful top, which had once hung limply on her skinny shoulders, yet now felt a little fuller at the top; a sure sign that the girl was finally undergoing a little pubescent growth. Her figure may still have been tiny, but at last, it was becoming more feminine than tomboyish.

"Leshia come on!" Draco shouted from below, he had been calling on and off for five minutes now. After one last satisfied smile, the girl rushed out, descending the stairs as gracefully as though she were going to a ball. Down by the front door her parents were waiting, looking as though they had stepped straight out of an fashion shoot. Hermione looked as beautiful as ever in a deep red satin number and Draco equally as handsome in his dress robes.

"What's the matter with you?" Draco asked sounding a little disgruntled; there was something different about the girl and he couldn't figure it out. Hermione noticed straight away what had their daughter beaming so.

"Oh darling you look absolutely beautiful," she exclaimed proudly and she wrapped an arm around the girl tightly.

"Come on, we're late as it is," Draco said brusquely; he was putout that once more he was out of the loop due to his decided lack of oestrogen. With this he disappeared with a slight crackling noise. Hermione gave the girl one last proud smile, before she wrapped her arm tightly around her daughter and apparated them both to Potter Manor. Using the floo network had been out of the question in such fineries. As soon as mother and daughter appeared in the entrance hall of the decadent mansion known as Potter Manor, many of their friends descended them upon.

"Oh Hermione, how do you always manage to look stunning?" Ginny was exclaiming at the same time that Rachel threw her arms roughly around Leshia's neck.

"I'm so happy you're here!" the redhead whispered softly. Leshia hugged her friend extra tightly, before she pulled back and gave the girl a reassuring smile.

"Leesh you look different." This surprised exclamation came from Katie, who was staring at the recently apparated girl with a mixture of surprise and jealousy. It would seem that at long last Leshia was growing into the potential she had been exhibiting since she was a little girl.

"I've grown apparently," Leshia exclaimed proudly.

"What, overnight?" Rachel chuckled. "Trying to give Katie a run for her money eh?" Both Leshia and Katie laughed, happy to see that their redhead friend was seemingly back in good sorts.

"I have something really big to tell you," Leshia quickly gushed, remembering what had happened to her earlier that day.

"What even bigger than you growing a couple of inches?" Rachel chortled, a happy glow adorning her pretty face; somehow, in the presence of her greatest friends, the last horrific seven days at home seemed a thing of the past. Leshia threw her friend a fond exasperated look.

"Yes," she said with dramatic obviousness. "And besides, it was only one inch. Now come on, let's do the meet and greet and then we can get out of here." And there were a lot of people to greet. Almost the entire Weasley clan had shown up for the occasion, and every single one of them was eager to greet the littlest Malfoy, who had once been an honorary member of their family. Following this Leshia was dragged into the crook of her father's arm against her wishes and forced to meet some of his stuffy former work colleagues from the ministry. And finally Hermione insisted on introducing her to several witches she and Ginny had become great friends with back when they were pregnant with the girls and had met at a pre-natal support group – 'What to expect when you're expecting a magical baby'.

At least an hour had passed before the three best friends could escape the throng of people downstairs and retire to Katie's decadent bedroom. Leshia had always adored the raven-haired girl's room. Each wall was painted with a dusting of minuscule flowers, enchanted to sway in imaginary winds. The ceiling was similarly enchanted to reveal a night's sky, with swirling exaggerated constellations and the occasional shooting star. A great swathe of pink sparkling satin adorned the bed in an extremely regal manner and the carpeted floor was so plush to touch that every time Leshia stepped foot in the room she took of her shoes just to enjoy the feeling of the soft down caressing her toes. Unlike her own room, Katie's abode could never be found in anything less than pristine condition. Whereas Leshia's floor was littered with dirty clothes, abandoned magazines and discarded cups and mugs, this room seemed almost unnaturally clean. This is the way Katie liked things, and as such, the moment Leshia threw off her shoes to enjoy the carpet once more, her shoes were scooped up and put neatly outside the door.

"You're such a neat freak Katie," Rachel laughed as she dropped down on the decadent bed.

"Only here," Katie corrected as she watched her friends on her neatly made sheets uneasily, mentally straightening out the creases to sooth her discomfort. "Anyway, so what did you want to tell us?" The tallest girl took a seat on her bed, finally joining the other two, while Leshia's eyes went wide and the small girl inhaled slowly, as though gathering the strength to proclaim her revelation.

"I met my grandfather in town this morning," she finally blurted out, before promptly ignoring the looks of horror on her friends' faces in order to explain the whole story, including the recently elucidated dream and the sightings of those mysterious eyes that had been following her all term. When her story finally came to an end Katie and Rachel were too shocked for words, and merely stared at the blonde girl with matching flummoxed expressions.

"This is not good," Rachel finally managed slowly and distantly, eliciting a fervent nod from Leshia.

"I know. What the heck am I going to do?"

"Tell your parents!" Katie exclaimed quite suddenly, causing the other two to jump in surprise.

"Are you mental?" Rachel managed. "Her dad's the one that lied to her in the first place."

"Exactly!" Leshia added adamantly.

"But he's dangerous!" Katie tried desperately. "Don't you remember what that note said? He's the one that can bring Voldemort back. He's the last Death-Eater, you have to tell!"

"No," Leshia countered firmly. "I am not telling my dad. Katie, he'll probably just addle my memories again like he did the last time, and then I won't remember that my psychotic grandfather is after me. It's much safer knowing what's going on, I mean…he doesn't want to hurt me does he?"

"No," Katie said seemingly wounded. "But he wants to take you away, you don't even seem to care that he wants to kidnap you."

"Don't be so stupid," Leshia snapped coldly, a look of anger crossing her face. "After what happened to my mum, you think I want to get kidnapped?"

"Oh I didn't mean it like that! I just think it would be safer if the proper authorities know about this so that they can catch him."

"My dad, the proper authorities?" Leshia laughed coldly. "Yeah, that's right. Because he did such a good job before of getting rid of Lucius didn't he? That's twice on my count that he let him get away. Twice! Who knows what he'll do if I tell him, he might just ignore it and hope he goes away."

"You don't mean that Leesh," Rachel said softly. "You know he'd do anything to protect you and your mum." Leshia sighed heavily, her anger dissipating.

"Yeah I know he would," she finally said with a brow creased in concern; she hadn't meant to sound so cruel towards her father, and now she felt awfully guilty for doing so, but she was still so awfully upset with him for changing her memories and hiding the truth from her. "I just…want to know what he wants…"

"You know what he wants, he wants you," Katie said bluntly.

"But there must be more to it than that," Leshia countered passionately. "He must have answers! Things that I need to know…about the past…about Voldemort. My parents have kept so much hidden from me, I'm just wondering what else they haven't told me, haven't told us!"

"But maybe it isn't our place to know," Katie tried, but she could see that she was fighting a losing battle. It wasn't her place to tell, and both Leshia and Rachel seemed entirely adamant to the fact that they weren't going to divulge this secret to their parents. The girls were suddenly brought back to the real world by a muffled knocking sound at the door.

"Girls?" It was Ginny.

"Come in mum." Moments later Ginny's beautifully made up face peered round the door, a fond expectant expression on her face.

"You can't hide in here all night girls, we'd like you to spend some time at the party," she told the children warmly and they quickly rushed to join her on the landing, where to their complete surprise, three other children were waiting.

"You?" Leshia gasped when she saw who Ginny had brought to meet them. Looking entirely out of place and extremely uncomfortable in his surroundings stood Julius Black. He was dressed rather dashingly in dress robes and for the first time Leshia wondered why she had never realised how attractive the young man was before this evening.

"Leshia," Ginny chuckled warmly. "I take it you know one another then?"

"Sort of," Katie replied uneasily, before her eyes drifted to the two younger children at the boy's side.

"Well this is Julius' younger brother and sister, Magnus and…oh I'm sorry dear, but I seem to have forgotten your name."

"Leona," the small girl at Julius' side piped up proudly.

"We're twins," the boy added. Indeed, they did look like twins. Similar in design to their older brother, the Black twins enjoyed exceedingly dark colourings. Little Leona was an extremely pretty child and her brother Magnus resembled the older Black child in his good looks.

"How nice," Rachel managed with a disgruntled look to her friends; the evening suddenly seemed a lot glummer now that they would have an entire family of Blacks to amuse. After making sure the children didn't show signs of wanting to throttle one another, Ginny excused herself to see to the rest of her guests, leaving the children in an uncomfortable silence.

"So what are you doing here?" Leshia finally asked with a slightly look of contempt.

"Our dad," Julius spoke softly. "He works with Mr Potter."

"This place is great," Leona was gushing now the silence had been broken.

"Yeah, you've got a wicked house!" her twin added. The three best friends looked to the smaller children in surprise; why on earth were they being so…nice? Surely they were destined for Slytherin like their mysterious older brother?

"Um…thanks," Katie finally replied. "Come on, I'll show you to the playroom." Slowly the entire group followed the raven-haired girl down the stairs to the large playroom where most of the children had gathered and were in the middle of an exciting game of 'blind man's bluff'. To Leshia's utmost discomfort, Julius Black fell into step beside her on their way through the grand manor house.

"Well done by the way," the boy finally spoke, as they neared the grand double doors, which would lead them through to the playroom.

"What do you mean?"

"For out-witting that blundering buffoon Allseyer today," the boy explained, before raising one eyebrow at her and taking his leave to join his siblings in the playroom they had juts bounded into. Leshia watched him go in surprise; his little comment raised two issues, for starters, he and Damian Allseyer were in regular contact, and secondly, they had discussed her. Surely Allseyer wouldn't willingly part with the information that that he had been out-witted by a filthy blood traitor? Which meant that Julius Black had in some way enquired after her…how odd!

"Catching flies?" a familiar voice suddenly came, and Leshia promptly shut her hanging jaw and looked up to see her father had joined her, watching her with a slightly suspicious edge to his otherwise pleasant face.

"I'm hungry," the girl countered with a charming smile, earning her an adoring look from her father.

"I hadn't realised the food here was so awful."

"Watch what you're calling awful Malfoy," Ginny's jubilant voice suddenly came and she soon joined the father and daughter with a smiling expression.

"Quite the contrary Weasley, I've been enjoying the mince pies very much, it's this one who seems to have the problem," Draco returned with a charming smile.

"No I haven't," Leshia complained urgently, hoping to convey to Katie's mother with her pleading expression that she had been saying nothing of the sort.

"Leesh what are you still doing out here?" Rachel's voice came before the redhead appeared round the doorway. "We're starting a game of sardines! If you're not careful you'll be the sardine."

"Coming," the blonde girl quickly chirruped, eager to get out of the awkward situation, and besides, sardines was her favourite game. Within moments she had dived into the darkened playroom searching out a good hiding place.

"Is everyone ready?" Katie's whispering voice came from one end of the large playroom. Nobody wanted to give away their positions, so the silence answered Katie's question. "Okay then, begin!" Leshia's tactic was always to start moving early on, and so, silent as a mouse, she started to creep about in the dark. Occasionally the sound of a clumsier peer reached her ears, but in general, the only sound that permeated the darkness was the gently thud of the music from the party outside. After five minutes of silently searching out the other players, Leshia finally came across one of them, though she wasn't happy with who she had found.

"You're kneeling on my hand," the ever-so-soft whisper of Julius black came through the darkness. After quickly moving the offending knee, Leshia resigned herself to the fact that in order to win the game she was going to have to overcome some of her animosity towards the Slytherins.

"Sorry," she whispered back and she shuffled under the table Julius had been hiding under and sat down next to him. "So how is old Allseyer, last I saw of him he was running for his life like the coward he is." After a moment's silence, in which Leshia could have sworn she heard the boy beside her smiling, his response came,

"I thought the aim of this game was to remain silent?"

"That bad eh?"

"Oh Allseyer's fine. I'm sure he'll be touched by your concern." There wasn't a trace of bitterness in the boy's tone; why was he behaving so un-Slytherin like?

"Trust me, concern is the last thing on my mind," Leshia countered darkly.

"Tell me," Julius asked softly and he sounded genuinely intrigued. "Why do you allow them to beat you up all the time? It must get dreadfully tiring." In response to his teasing jibe, Leshia scrunched up her face indignantly in the dark.

"I don't _let_ them do anything," she hissed a little loudly. "I'd like to see you fight off a…"

"Leesh is that you?" Rachel had now found them under the table and after a moment's scrambling, she soon joined them. "You're being awfully loud."

"Blame him," the blonde girl huffed.

"Who's him?"

"Hello," Julius' amused tone came right beside Rachel's ear. She hadn't realised she had been sitting practically on top of the boy, and as such jumped in surprise.

"Don't _do_ that," the girl hissed. "God, a little warning next time would be nice you know." An awkward silence followed, in which the whisperings and scrambling of the other players alone pierced the darkness.

"Well this is cosy isn't it?" a fourth voice came in the dark.

"Tom? Is that you?" Rachel whispered. "How long have you been here?"

"Now that would be telling my dear Rachel," Tom Weasley, another of the Weasley cousins and a Gryffindor fourth-year replied.

"Who else is here?" Leshia asked curiously, and she was greeted by a chorus of '_me'_s from the dark.

"Shhhh, this is meant to be a silent game!" Katie's voice suddenly came and she joined the children under the table. Katie upheld the silence rule for the remainder of the game, which ended when Michael Potter, Katie's younger brother, finally announced from the other end of the room,

"Oh I give up, I can't find anybody!" As though on request the light went on and revealed that indeed, all the children except Michael had managed to gather under the table in the corner. It was a tight squeeze with over twenty children packed in, but all of them were smiling and started chanting 'sardine' at poor Michael. Leshia though, was watching Julius Black with a disgruntled expression.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to get a drink," the boy finally said with a charming smile and this was the last Leshia saw of him that evening. The three best friends had a wonderful time and the party was resounding success. Eventually, as midnight approached and most of the guests had returned home Leshia was collected from the playroom by her rather red-faced father and her giggling mother.

"Happy Christmas," Leshia gushed to her friends and hugged them roughly. Rachel was looking very sorry for herself, now that she had to return to her broken home. "Don't worry," Leshia told the redhead comfortingly and she embraced the girl one more time. "We'll all be together again in a few hours."

"I know," Rachel said bravely, putting on a forced smile. Leshia felt awful leaving her, but in the end she clung onto her father's arm as he apparated them home. After pinning her stocking up by the fire, Leshia rushed upstairs to change and was permitted a last glass of milk and a mince pie on the settee in the lounge with her parents, as they enjoyed a sobering mug of black coffee each. Eventually though, she was sent up to bed. Sleep however, didn't come so easily, and for hours Leshia tossed and turned, her thoughts drifting to her grandfather, and Julius Black's strange behaviour at the party.

XXX

Surely it had been just a blink? The girl had simply closed her eyes for a moment and now…was that light peeking in through the gaps in her thick curtains? Was it morning? Leshia sat straight up in bed and after tripping over her duvet, she finally managed to reach her window and rip open the curtains. Yes! The sun was rising over a beautiful snowy cityscape. Christmas had arrived at last. The clock on Leshia's wall told her it was eight-o-clock, well beyond the seven-o clock limit Draco had set her long ago when she was eight years old (after she had started waking up at five on Christmas Day). After jumping into her slippers, the girl threw open her door and careened across the darkened landing to her parents' door, through which Leshia could hear her father's gentle snoring. So they were still asleep? How wonderful!

"Happy Christmas!" the young girl sang out jubilantly and she burst through the door, jumping onto her parent's bed to greet her startled mother and father. "Happy Christmas!" the girl repeated joyously, bouncing up and down on the springy mattress.

"Happy Christmas darling," Hermione replied adoringly, tears stinging her eyes as the sight of her daughter brought back memories of her as a little girl, when she had reacted in an identical way to the coming of Christmas morning. The poor young woman had never believed she would ever again experience such a wonderful Christmas awakening, but she had been wrong.

"It's not seven yet," Draco grumbled fondly and he pushed his face under his pillow. "Go away you nuisance."

"It is so past seven dad, it's eight-o clock!" Leshia complained happily and she dropped down between her parents with a beaming expression. "Dad come on, please?" the girl whined teasingly, and she hugged her father's side firmly. "Get up! It's Christmas!"

"Draco get up," Hermione chuckled lovingly, as she threw off her covers and pulled on her soft dressing gown and slippers. "Come on Leshia, let's go and see if there's anything in our stockings." Within seconds the young girl was at her mother's side and the pair of them made their way down to the lounge where Tally had already got a fire going. Hanging above the hearth stood three stockings packed full of lovingly wrapped gifts, which had been placed there the night before by a slightly drunken Draco.

"There's so many!" Leshia squealed happily and she tore down her stocking, delving her arm into the deep stocking and pulling out a multitude of glittering packages.

"Yes, Father Christmas certainly has been generous this year," Hermione said with a warm smile.

"Oh mum don't be silly," Leshia grumbled fondly. "You don't have to pretend, I'm not six anymore." The girl's mother hid the stab of pain with a broad smile as Leshia started to rip the paper from her presents. Of course she knew that Leshia was now too old to believe in Father Christmas; she had been gone for over six years, and in that time Leshia had undoubtedly learned the truth, but it was small things such as this that reminded her how much of her daughter's childhood she had really missed.

"Aw excellent!" Leshia suddenly erupted in joy as she revealed a huge bag full of Bertie Bots Every Flavour Beans.

"They'll make your teeth fall out," a hoarse voice came from the doorway, and both mother and daughter spun around to see Draco had finally risen, and even though he sounded cantankerous, he was in fact smiling broadly. "Elf!" the young man suddenly called out.

"Draco," Hermione admonished fondly. "She has a name." It would seem though, that Tally didn't seem to mind her master addressing her as 'elf' as suddenly she appeared beside the young man.

"Yes master?"

"Is breakfast ready yet?" Draco asked tiredly.

"Yes master certainly, Tally has been keeping it warm for you," the elf gushed with an adoring smile.

"But dad you have to open your stocking first," Leshia complained with an elaborate puppy-dog expression. For a moment Draco looked to the ceiling with a slightly agonised expression, he couldn't withstand that look on his daughter's face, but he was hungry. Eventually Leshia's will-destroying tactics pulled through and with a dramatic sigh Draco ambled over to his wife and child, dropping down on the settee with and even heavier sigh. "Oh come on dad it's not that bad, look, you've got presents!" Leshia laughed and she lifted her father's heavily stuffed stocking onto the settee beside him. After absent-mindedly pulling out a pair of socks Draco forced a somewhat pleasant expression onto his face.

"Lovely," he managed sounding false. Hermione shot him an adoring look before she and Leshia continued to open their presents. Eventually all the small and amusing gifts had been unwrapped and the family made their way through to the kitchen where Tally had arranged a wonderful breakfast for them. Leshia was far too excited about the parcels under the tree to concentrate on eating and barely nibbled at the sole piece of toast on her plate.

"If you don't finish that we won't be opening the rest of the presents," Draco warned her.

"But dad…"

"Sweetheart it _will_ be a long time before we eat lunch," Hermione quickly intervened with a sweet smile. With a heavy sigh Leshia complied, acting as though she had just been asked to wolf down an entire loaf of bread, rather than just the measly slice of toast on her plate. The young girl missed the fond look that passed between her parents: it would seem that their young daughter was beginning to act more like the teenager she had finally become. As soon as Draco put his finished cup of coffee down Leshia was on her feet dragging her parents through to the lounge.

"Perhaps we should wait until we're back from the Weasley's to open the presents," Draco suggested.

"Oh Draco stop it," Hermione laughed as she switched on the old gramophone beside the tree to bask the room in the beautiful Christmas Carols performed by the Hogsmeade Harmonics. Draco shook his head fondly as Hermione reached down and picked up a parcel in each hand. He hated receiving gifts, he never felt worthy of them. "Right then," Hermione was continuing with a beaming smile and she held out the two book-like parcels to her husband and daughter, and so, Christmas began, with many happy surprises and a few unwelcome ones. By eleven-o clock the tree was looking rather bare without it's adorning presents, but the Malfoys had not the time to feel saddened by it as they were gathering by the hearth in the kitchen with an assembly of presents for the Weasley clan, who they were about to join for Christmas Dinner.

"Right, are you sure we have everything?" Hermione checked with her family, who nodded with fond impatient looks. "Good, Leshia you go first darling." After carefully rearranging the large bag of presents Leshia carried on her shoulder, she picked up a handful of floo powder and climbed carefully into the grate.

"The burrow," she said clearly and threw down her powder. Within instants she was engulfed in green flame, and endured the unpleasant swirling sensation of travelling over the floo network. It was a bumpy ride as the network was being used quite heavily on this busy morning, but finally she appeared in an incredibly hectic Weasley kitchen.

"Oh Leshia darling!" Molly Weasley's adoring call came and within moments the girl was engulfed in a warm embrace. "Happy Christmas!"

"Happy Christmas Molly," the girl replied dutifully as Molly's scratchy hair itched her nose.

"Rachel! Katie! Leshia's here!" As Hermione appeared from the hearth, so too did Leshia's friends from the hall.

"Happy Christmas!" was being thrown this way and that, but eventually Leshia was dragged out of the busy kitchen and up the stairs to one of the bedrooms, which had lain untouched since the various Weasley children had moved out. The older girls of the family had claimed Fred and George's old room, and after greeting Sarah and Amy, Leshia dropped down on the floor and thrust two presents towards her friends.

"Happy Christmas," she told them with a big smile, and was instantly rewarded with two presents of her own. After receiving a beautiful scarf and glove combo from Katie and a book on Lukas Krosovitch from Rachel, Leshia looked up to see her friends were admiring their gifts with beaming smiles. Several thank yous were exchanged and then the girls relaxed against one of the beds to chat about the gifts they had received from their families.

"It was so funny," Leshia laughed. "My mum gave me this really big and boring looking book on ancient runes and she kept dropping hints that this'll be the book she'll be using with her third years next year. She couldn't have put it plainer that she wants me to do ancient runes, but I really don't want to, I can't imagine anything more boring."

"Oh that's not as bad as the book my mum gave me on 'the smart witch's guide to etiquette'," Rachel grumbled.

"Well I'm not surprised you two didn't enjoy your books, I'm not even sure you know how to read," Katie countered with a big smile.

"Hey! One of my favourite presents was a book," Leshia complained with a big smile. "It's a guide on how to use appearance spells, you know for hair and make up and stuff like that. It's much easier than all that muggle stuff, though I did get quite a lot of that too."

"That sounds wicked," Katie exclaimed with wide eyes of jealousy.

"Yeah, dad wasn't so impressed though, he looked like he wanted to go off and sulk, or throw a tantrum at the very least." For a moment the top of the house rocked with a series of loud explosions, which was soon followed by laughter. Katie rolled her eyes.

"Uncle Bill got all his kids reusable exploding bouncy balls, Luke managed eight exploding bounces this morning," Rachel explained.

"Yeah, grandma was furious, she jumped so much she dropped a batch of Yorkshire puddings all over the floor." For a moment Leshia's eyes wandered down to her Lukas Krosovitch book and after looking up to see that her friends were grinning at one another secretively, she opened the cover of the book to admire the front-page picture of the handsome Bulgarian chaser.

"I thought you might like it," Katie's voice came.

"Yeah it's great, thanks…" Leshia began, but then she looked up with a frown. "But you didn't get it for me, Rachel did."

"I didn't say anything," Katie countered innocently.

"Yes you did."

"No, it was me." For a moment Leshia stared at her red-haired friend with incredibly wide eyes. It was Rachel who was speaking, but it was Katie's voice.

"Rachel! When did you learn to do that?" she finally spluttered. After a mysterious grin Rachel reached up and pulled down the collar of her polo neck jumper. As she did so she revealed a thick choker, which had some strange device attached on the front.

"It's a Speech Stealer," the girl gushed happily.

"You're kidding! I've heard of them! They're excellent, they can copy voices and even animal sounds can't they?" Leshia exploded eagerly. Rachel nodded happily and told her of all the people she and Katie had been tricking all morning. It transpired that even though the gizmo was very expensive, Ron had got it for his daughter because he was trying to make up for their awful situation at home. After another series of explosions Leshia insisted she be allowed to go and see what these mysterious exploding bouncy balls looked like, but her friends didn't accompany her as they already had near-perforated eardrums from the dangerous toys. Luke allowed the girl to test his out and everyone roared with approval and laughter as the ball bounced an astonishing ten times. The response from down below however, was less congratulatory.

"If I hear one more explosion I'm going to confiscate everybody's presents and you'll have to help us in the kitchen!" Molly's flustered reprove came.

"Sorry grandma," a couple of grandchildren chorused in amusement. Suffice to say, nobody quite heeded her and ten minutes later the children were being herded downstairs to help in the kitchen (all manner of exploding and mischievous toys being confiscated as they walked in). There were people everywhere, with every Weasley in attendance. Leshia, Katie and Rachel were soon put in charge of setting the cutlery on the table and they spent the next hour or so rushing up and down the hugely long table, setting out the knives and forks. As they did so they read the table settings and were happy to see that they would be sitting next to one another. From far above the odd explosion still sounded, but all in all the atmosphere was a very excitable one – bordering on flustered, yet still enjoyable. Eventually the women of the family managed to get the massive Christmas dinner ready and the clan of Weasleys and their guests took their seats.

"This looks amazing mum," Ron remarked with wide eyes, he hadn't seen this much food in a long time. Molly beamed at her youngest son, but then her eyes narrowed in contempt at the woman sitting beside him, who had offered the young man a scowl at his exclamation. Old Grandma Weasley was mortified that her son was on the brink of marital collapse, though she could understand why his wife was driving him up the wall; she had been rather hoping that Lavender wouldn't make it to the Christmas Dinner. After a rush for the serving spoons, everyone's plates were piled high with food.

"Time for the crackers mum?" Fred piped up from his position down the end of the table.

"Yes dear," Molly chuckled and she lifted her glittering silver Cribbage's Christmas Cracker from her plate and offered it to Arthur at her right. Once more there was a rush to catch up and soon a massive ring of crossed arms and crackers had formed around the table. On the count of 'Happy Christmas' everyone pulled as hard as they could and within seconds the room was engulfed in glittering blue smoke, and the sound of over two dozen cannons going off. Balloons drifted in and out of the smoke and here and there the odd turtledove swooped in low arcs trying to find and exit from the room it had just materialised in. A swarm of pure white mice scurried across the table, and as the smoke cleared everyone got to see what their gift had been. Leshia was delighted with her Cowboy hat and her gift: a quidditch match set. The beautifully carved game came with goalposts and ten real live moving players. It could be played with two people, or on one's own.

"Ah Leesh that's the one I was after," Rachel complained half-heartedly (she was very pleased with her portable wizarding chess game and her Father Christmas hat).

"Hey listen to this," Katie piped up (having already donned her pirate hat). "What do you get from a pampered cow?"

"I don't know," the other two conceded.

"Spoiled milk."

"That's not funny," Rachel chuckled. "But then again, it did come from a cracker!" Everyone at the table continued to share their jokes, and only when the noise had died down did Leshia notice her parents, they were in the middle of an amusing looking argument as Draco refused to wear the pink bonnet that had come out of his cracker and was trying to swap it for Hermione's much more sensible muggle cap. His wife however, wasn't budging, and was laughing herself silly at her husband's grimace. In the end she did not give in and she wore her cap proudly, though no manner of jeering from the rest of the table could get Draco to put on his bonnet.

"Here you go dad, you can wear mine if you want?" Leshia offered and she took off the cowboy hat, which seemed too large anyway. Draco jumped at the chance and quickly swapped hats. He didn't offer her any thanks, but his smile and expression gave that away. As a reward for her selflessness (after all the bonnet looked incredibly silly, even on her), Draco passed his cracker gift over the table to her: a beautifully ornate wand cleaning kit. As soon as the mess had been dutifully shoved aside everyone dug into the delicious meal, and for ten minutes all that could be heard was the scraping of knives and forks on china and the odd muffled sounds of appreciation for the food.

Slowly though, conversation resumed and down Leshia's end, the usual topics of school memories had struck up amongst the parents. She listened with great interest as Harry and Ron laughed about old Gilderoy Lockhart's despicable behaviour and his eventual untimely demise.

"So he lost his memory in the chamber of secrets?" she asked curiously, though her expression was slightly steely; her well-honed mind was already reeling with the makings of a cunning (and incredibly naughty) plan.

"Well not quite, in the tunnel leading to the chamber of secrets," Harry corrected.

"So it's underground?" Leshia asked. "What's it like?"

"Very wet and not really a place that you'd want to have to visit," Harry told her, though his brow was beginning to knit into a frown; why did Leshia look so calculating.

"And are there snakes there?"

"Just one, but it's long gone now. Why are you asking?"

"Just curious." The girl's reply had been simple enough, and her expression had suddenly morphed into an preciously innocent expression, but at her sides Katie and Rachel were staring at her with some sort of understanding, and as one, alarm bells started going off in all their parents' heads.

"Don't even think it," Draco suddenly said firmly.

"Think what?" his daughter countered, her innocent expression intensifying.

"You know what. Don't!"

"Why?"

"Because it's dangerous, and it's been destroyed," Draco said firmly.

"No it hasn't, it's…"

"Alecia I said no." For a moment an awkward silence drifted over the small group, which was eventually broken by Ginny's forced laughter.

"I remember one lesson, Lockhart actually knocked himself out with his wand," she managed and the conversation resumed, though for a prolonged moment Draco still stared his daughter in the eye with a serious look of warning. He may have given her the all clear to deal with that Allseyer boy, but that did not mean she could go clambering through the depths of the school's plumbing willy-nilly possibly falling to her death in the process. It would have been nice to say that dinner continued without a hitch, but the atmosphere soon turned to breaking point when Molly caught wind of Lavender boasting of the up and coming trips she was due to take.

"And what about your family, have you forgotten about them?" the protective mother spoke up, causing half the table to fall silent and watch grandmother Weasley with wide eyes of surprise.

"Of course not," Lavender countered forcibly, her eyes narrowing in dislike for the woman she felt to be domineering and interfering.

"Well will you be taking Ron or the children with you on your travels?"

"No," Lavender replied awkwardly.

"Oh." The tone in which Molly made this simple utterance enraged young Lavender.

"For your information I work very hard for my family," she snapped, catching the attention of the rest of the table, who had not yet noticed the potential fight developing at the head of the table.

"I never said you didn't."

"Yes you did, you were implying it!"

"It just seems to me that with all this travelling you're going to be doing that you won't find much time to see them, that's all."

"That's none of your business Molly," Lavender hissed and she sounded venomous as all her suppressed emotions on the matter came bubbling to the surface.

"Lavender," Ron pleaded softly, noticing that their children were all looking near-tears.

"No Ron," Lavender complained angrily. "Your mother has something to tell me." The manner in which Lavender dismissed her son would have been enough fuel for her to keep going, but Ron looked so miserable and defeated that Molly had not the heart to continue.

"No I don't," Molly sighed and she turned back to her plate, her head hanging. This simple conversation somehow managed to taint the rest of dinner, and for the most part Leshia and Katie tried their very best to cheer Rachel up, who seemed suddenly withdrawn and very teary-eyed. On the opposite side of the table their parents tried to do the same with Ron, though with more tact as Lavender was sitting right beside him. As soon as dinner finished and the plates had been cleared away the children scarpered and Leshia, Katie and Rachel made themselves comfortable on a large beanbag, with Rachel in the middle being cocooned in protectively by her friends.

"I'm sorry everyone had to see that," Rachel whispered and she hung her head.

"Nobody cared," Katie said and Leshia nodded quickly.

"No, but everybody noticed." Suddenly Rachel's brow turned into a frown and she looked up at Leshia curiously. "So, the Chamber of Secrets? Since when has that been part of the plan?"

"It's not, it's just a thought that's all. I mean…Allseyer doesn't know that there aren't snakes down there does he?" For the remainder of the evening the children started to formulate the makings of ideas incorporating the Chamber of Secrets into mission 'Get Allseyer back'. Katie was the first one to go and as she was heading down to the hearth to return home by the floo network Leshia asked her softly to quiz her father on the location of the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. As soon as the Potters had gone, Leshia's parents showed signs of leaving too and Leshia quickly delved into her pocket and pulled out the little bag containing her new quidditch game. After a moment's hesitation (after all, it was an amazing gift), she thrust it into Rachel's hand.

"Here, you have it," she said firmly, and when Rachel looked as though she was about to object she shook her head and hugged her friend firmly. "I really want you to have it, please don't argue with me because you're not going to win." The girls parted and Leshia was saddened to see tears in her best friend's eyes.

"Thank you," Rachel mouthed as the tears spilled over. To comfort her friend Leshia pulled her into another hug.

"I'm going to ask if you can stay with us over New Years, I'm sure my parents will say yes and maybe your dad can come too. Just remember Rach, I'm always there if you need me, just hop into the hearth and I'll be waiting."

XXX

Rachel took Leshia up on her offer almost every day for the remainder of the holiday, but Leshia didn't mind in the slightest. She made sure to keep her best friend occupied and distracted from her tattered home life and as such both girls enjoyed a fun filled holiday. No more was mentioned on rowing families, or Leshia's own problems with her dangerous stalker; instead, they focused on the positive things and within no time the girls found themselves at the station, saying goodbye to their families (well, not in Leshia's case of course). Ginny was crying, and Ron looked close, he was incredibly distressed that his cherished daughter was leaving again, leaving him with no one to confide in and share his misery with at home. She had made home much more than bearable, she had made it wonderful, but the young man wished nothing more than for his daughter to return to school where she would undoubtedly have a much more enjoyable time. He wouldn't wish any matter of heartache on his precious child, no matter how much pain he received in return.

As the train pulled out of the station Rachel felt a huge weight lift from her shoulders, soon to be replaced by a huge feeling of guilt. She wished so dearly that her father would be all right, but she couldn't help but feel relieved to be returning to school where her parents' troubles seemed like a bad dream.

"Exploding snap anybody?" Leshia piped up with a big grin, as she brandished a shining new deck of wizarding cards.

"That depends," Rachel sniffed with a big smile. "Are you ready to lose?" The train journey passed with much laughter and fun, and within no time it seemed darkness had fallen and the more experienced Hogwarts goers started to recognise the surroundings, meaning they were close.

"Come on, let's put our robes on," Katie instructed the other two and they quickly changed into their school robes. Just in time it turned out, as the moment they shut their trunks the squeal of the breaks sounded and the train started to slow down. Soon they joined a steady throng of children heading out to the carriages.

"Hello ladies," Rodeo's unmistakable foreign voice sounded and moments later he had slung his arms about Katie and Rachel's shoulders leaving Leshia feeling her cheeks prickling with jealousy. The boy looked decidedly browner than the last time they had seen him.

"What happened to you, did you eat too much chocolate or something?" Katie asked fondly when she too noticed Rodeo's tanned appearance.

"No," the boy countered with a beaming smile directed solely at Katie, causing the prickle in Leshia's cheeks to intensify. "I spent the holiday on some marvellous tropical island."

"Oh shut up you show off," the raven-haired girl laughed adoringly. Leshia's jaw dropped a little at this point and she might have said something she would later regret, when suddenly someone fell into step beside her. It was Parys and he was smiling at her warmly.

"Hello."

"Hi," Leshia returned with a smile, and the boy's gratifyingly lavish attention on her, soon made her forget that all the way up to Hogwarts Rodeo and Katie regaled one another with their holiday stories. The castle seemed so delightfully warm in comparison to the cold northern evening and soon everyone was enjoying the delicious dinner the Hogwarts Elves had spent all afternoon preparing.

"Thish ish absholutely amazong," Rachel exclaimed through a mouthful of mashed potato.

"What's amazong?" Leshia chuckled.

"Thish," Rachel said firmly and she finally swallowed her delicious mouthful. "Hey Leesh, is the back of your head hurting?" After feeling her hair to find that nothing out of the ordinary could be found there the blonde girl frowned at Rachel for answers. "Well it's just Allseyer looks like he's trying to bore a hole in the back of your head with that glare. God, didn't his mother ever tell him that if you make a face like that for too long it'll stay that way?" Leshia quickly spun around and found that indeed, her archenemy was glaring at her furiously. Evidently his anger hadn't taken a hiatus over the holidays and his hatred for all things Malfoy had increased. Leshia took the opportunity to smile smugly at the unpleasant boy, before she turned round in her seat and found Rodeo watching her with a worried look.

"What?" she laughed.

"Shouldn't you stop trying to wind him up? I mean, your body can't take much more of a beating Leesh."

"How did…" Leshia trailed off and shook her head, trying to implore with the boy to shut up, should anyone more capable of action (Ryan Lofting and his friends for example) hear him and go marching across the hall to take care of the Slytherin boy. Rodeo looked saddened.

"Just be careful okay?" The boy had suddenly turned brusque and he looked away leaving Leshia feeling angry and confused. What was his problem? What's more, Katie now seemed incredibly off with Leshia, who was beginning to get a little tired of teenage hormones and emotions, they all seemed far too complicated. Would it be too much hassle to go back in time and reverse the effects of this melodrama-filled time. By the time the children had made their way up to their dormitory and were curled up in bed in their pyjamas Katie had finally returned to normal, though by this point Leshia had no desire of speaking with her.

"Goodnight," the blonde haired girl called to her friends, before she rolled over in bed and smiled: she was home.

XXX

The following morning Leshia (and possibly the rest of Gryffindor tower, if not the whole of Hogwarts) was very rudely awoken by a thunderous explosion. Before she had time to control her body, she had leapt out of bed along with the rest of the girl's in her year to find that Rachel was silently cracking up, with tears of suppressed laughter streaming down her face. In her hand was one of the exploding bouncy balls that had caused so much trouble at Christmas.

"Rachel!" Katie exclaimed in surprise. "What is wrong with you? You scared us half to death!"

"I just couldn't resist," the redhead sang out gleefully. "You were all sleeping so peacefully and I was bored." This statement only furthered to exacerbate her peers' morning grogginess and for the next ten minutes they pummelled her with pillows and even a shoe.

"Ashley!" Rachel exclaimed in amused surprise. "You can't hit me with a shoe! It was time to get up anyway." Resigned to the fact that it was soon time for breakfast anyway, the others got dressed and soon the trio of best friends were making their way down with the steady morning throng of people to the main hall.

"Was it one of you that woke us up?" Tom's voice came and soon the young Weasley had fallen into step beside his cousins, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Blame this one," Katie grumbled with a nod of her head towards a beaming Rachel.

"I thought as much," Luke piped up, quickly appearing on the other side of the girls. "It was a mistake giving you that ball, I knew it all along." Rachel beamed at her older cousin and hoped to convey that she was in fact very grateful for his gift. At Christmas Rachel and her siblings had been inundated with gifts from concerned relatives; in fact, most of her cousins had offloaded presents onto her that they themselves cherished, but felt would cheer her up no end. The breakfast hall was filled with the delighted chatter of happy Hogwarts returnees, who were delighting one another with exciting and embellished Christmas stories. At the Gryffindor table the scene was no different, and as the girls took their seats they caught the end of the story the Wood twins were telling their friends about their experiences at the Quidditch Christmas Cup – a tournament held for all the teams in Britain. As it transpired, their father, Oliver Wood's team had won and he had been awarded Man of the Match in the tournament final. It all sounded so terribly exciting.

After breakfast the girls trailed over to the charms classroom with their classmates still going on about the Wood twins' fascinating backstage stories form the tournament, leaving the trio feeling incredibly jealous. All in all they were incredibly happy when they took their seats and silence descended over the classroom. Luckily by the time conversation resumed on their way to Defence Against the Dark Arts, everyone had forgotten about the exciting tales of the Wood twins. It would seem though that Damian Allseyer had not forgotten about the way he and Leshia last parted. He and his gang of unfortunate looking cronies were waiting for her outside the classroom with foul looks on their foul faces.

"Have a nice Christmas did you blood traitor?" Allseyer demanded venomously.

"Yeah it was lovely thanks," Leshia quipped, her eyes cold with hatred.

"Good, because it'll be your last, mark my words," the cantankerous boy hissed and his friends started to laugh nastily.

"Why, are they cancelling Christmas?"

"Oh no, nothing so drastic," Allseyer said light-heartedly with a cruel smile. "Just you."

"Don't you ever get bored of this useless chitchat, if you're going to do something then just do it." Everyone turned around in surprise to see that Julius Black had made his way to the head of the Slytherin group and was now watching Allseyer with an expression on his handsome face that clearly read that he had no desire to be in the same class as such an idiot.

"I can't, not here," Allseyer quickly countered, desperate for the mysterious Black boy's approval. His sniggering turnabout caused Leshia and the rest of the Gryffindors to roar with laughter, which wasn't abated until the telltale footsteps of the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor sounded from down the corridor.

"Well done," Draco told the class as he approached. "Not a shirt out of place, keep this up and you might just pass this year." With this he opened the classroom and walked in, leaving the children to scramble after him and take their seats. "I trust you've got any wild and reckless behaviour out of your systems in the holidays, because I don't want to see any of it in here." For a moment the class stayed silent while Draco walked round the back of his desk and lifted a large cloaked cage onto it. Everyone in the class leaned forward instinctively; intensely curious about what was inside. "Second years," Draco told the class with a small smirk on his face. "You are all about to become parents." It was a mark of the great respect (and terror) Draco held that the class didn't break apart whispering. Instead they still remained stock still, their eyes slightly wider, wondering what on earth was in the cage. "Can anyone tell me, what this is?" As he spoke, Draco walked over to the board and pulled down the rolled canvas that had been suspended above the board. As he did so a large detailed diagram of a small pixie like creature unfolded. Several children in the class darted back in disgust.

"Widglings?" Sam Thomas, a Gryffindor boy, exclaimed in revulsion. "But sir, they're evil!"

"Perhaps," Draco said lightly and he returned to his desk, leaning against it with an amused expression on his face.

"But sir, they chew holes in candle holders so they'll fall over and burn the house to the ground," Katie complained worriedly.

"Yeah, and they try to feed you poisonous spiders while your asleep so you'll either choke to death or get really ill," Rachel added. For the following five minutes the children continued their tirade on how awful these tiny little creatures were, while the muggle-born children in the class began to tremble in fear of these little beasts.

"So you'd all agree that these creatures are evil and not worthy of our time?" Draco asked the class eventually, earning twenty thorough nods in return. "Why do you think they're so wicked?" Several hands flew into the air. "Yes, Miss Weasley?"

"They're just born that way sir." Several hands went down, as evidently this had been the majority of the class' answer as well. Draco raised his head in a half nod, his expression thoughtful.

"Maybe, does anyone have any other theories?" Only one hand remained in the air. "Go on then."

"Maybe they do these things because they're taught to do them by their parents…or maybe, maybe they just think that's how they're meant to behave," Leshia said with an equal expression of deep thought on her face. For a moment a broad smile pulled at the corners of Draco's mouth, before he nodded and got to his feet.

"Exactly," he said loudly. "We don't know the answer to this, because no one has ever dreamed of owning a Widgling as a pet…until now." With this he lifted the cloak from the cage revealing ten little nests, built up against the railings. "The question of why people turn out the way they do has long troubled scholars. Are we simply born the way we are with no hope of changing or bettering ourselves, or are we honed by our experiences? Is there such a things as a purely evil person?"

"Voldemort sir?" Ashley suggested in a small voice. For a moment Draco paused.

"Ah but was he always evil, was he not an innocent baby at one point like the rest of us? The question I am posing you this term is this, 'what is the nature of evil and can we truly overcome it?'" For a moment Leshia looked to her hands feeling slightly humbled, she knew this topic must be close to her father's heart after the life he had endured. For her part, she already knew the answer to the last part of her father's question: most definitely. She had heard of some of the horrendous things her father had done in his time, and yet for the life of her she couldn't manage to feel shocked by it, as it didn't fit with his personality in the slightest. She couldn't picture him doing any of those things. Her father had overcome his evils.

"Consider this if you will, a social experiment that we will be doing throughout the term. We won't have any more lessons on it, it will be entirely up to you how much work you want to put into it," Draco explained. "You'll be raising a Widgling between two of you, and each pair will be matched with another pair so that the creature's can live in twos. Are you with me so far?" Everyone nodded, looking slightly more enthusiastic about the project. "I would like you to try your very best to see whether you can raise these Widglings against their natures. At the end of term you'll have to write a ten-foot report on your findings. This will constitute half of your final mark on this course. Now remember, there is no right or wrong answer, it's an experiment, but if you think that you can ignore the creatures, you will find that writing ten feet on a subject you have no idea about will be rather difficult."

"Sir will they live in our dormitories?" Nicola asked eagerly, already picturing a new pet. Draco smiled and shook his head.

"No, they'll be staying here in the classroom," he explained. "Each pair will consist of one boy and one girl." As he said this Rodeo and Katie turned to smile at one another, and Leshia, who was sitting behind the boy rolled her eyes to the sky in annoyance, before she folded her arms across her desk and rested her chin in them looking very fed up. Her father had noticed. "I've already assigned you to pairs, and the pairs in turn, into groups." On this note, he walked back to his board and spun it round, revealing pairs of names next to the letters A through J. Several children whispered a 'yes' as they were evidently placed with a friend, but Leshia couldn't quite believe her eyes when she saw she had been put with Julius Black.

"Sir?" Katie's hand was in the air again.

"Yes Miss Potter?"

"Is it possible to change pairs?" the girl asked with a wounded expression, she had not been placed with her beloved Rodeo; instead she was with Sam Thomas, who she didn't particularly like.

"No, there will be no swapping." At this he caught eyes with his daughter who was offering him the most adorable quizzical, yet entirely bemused, expression. She was silently asking him why he had put her with that boy, and he knew it. After giving her a fond smile he looked back over the class. "Nor will there we any swapping of the groups of pairs. I've assigned you all to your places for specific reasons." The only saving grace Leshia could find in the situation was that her pair was paired with Rachel's pair. What made this arrangement even more enjoyable was that Rachel had been paired with Rodeo.

"Now remember, you have to keep in regular contact with the other pair your working with. If Widglings do turn out the way they do because of socialisation, then for all your hard work, you'll never get a positive result if the other pair are doing nothing with their project. I realise that this is a lot to ask of you, but I thought it would be fun to give something new a try." For the remainder of the lesson, the children were assigned a Widgling per pair and were then instructed on arranging a cage for them in the cupboard at the back of the classroom. Leshia and Julius worked for the most part in silence, by the end of the lesson they had only really spoken more than a few words to one another when they had agreed (or rather Leshia had announced and Julius hadn't complained) that the Widgling would be called Gryff. As the bell went, the class was reeling from their enjoyable lesson.

"From now on, all work with your projects should be done in your own time, we'll resume with our lesson on complex countercurses on Wednesday." Finally the bell went and Draco nodded to the class. "Off you go then." Nineteen children scrambled to their feet and filed out, but one remained, with an extremely put out expression on her face. Draco couldn't help but look amused. "What do you want?" he chuckled.

"Answers," Leshia grumbled.

"To what my dearest?"

"You know what dad, putting me with Julius Black! Why?" Draco grinned broadly.

"I'm surprised you don't know, isn't it obvious?"

"No!" The girl was evidently extremely annoyed.

"Had it never occurred to you that having a contact close to that Allseyer boy might be an advantage to you?" For a moment Leshia furrowed her brow in thought; she hadn't thought of it like that. "And besides, there's something about that boy, he's not like any Slytherin I've ever met. He may be an ally to you. "Right then, if that's all the melodrama for today, then I'm going to go for a coffee. So if you have no further questions…"

"Actually I do," Leshia said with a small smile, and she finally got to her feet, walking over to the door. "Why didn't you put Katie with Rodeo?"

"Well why should I have?" Something about the look on her father's face told her that his innocence was entirely feigned; he knew why. Though this was not from his own conclusion drawing, it was Hermione who had helped him draw up the list and made sure that things turned in favour of their daughter.

"No reason," Leshia said lightly and after one last beaming smile, she scarpered to find her friends had waited for her up the corridor with Parys and Rodeo.

XXX

The girl remained in good spirits for a long time. Gradually the weeks were passing and with it the days were becoming longer and the weather was becoming a little more bearable – enough for the children to start venturing outside in breaks and at the weekend. Leshia almost entirely forgot her grandfather was out there and searching for a way to get to her; her attention was focused on trying to find a way to get back at Allseyer and to make Julius turn sides (it seemed as though he hadn't chosen one yet, so she was still in with a chance). As yet though, she had had little luck. They met three times a week to try to socialise Gryff, and so far the only words they had spoken had been on their progress, or rather the lack thereof. As they moved into the second week of February, the wicked Widgling had somehow managed to set fire to Leshia's hair, shred their notebook on their progress, spit a vile stinging substance into Julius' eyes and bitten them more times than they could count. Leshia was beginning to think the awful creature was just designed to be horrid, but a few days before Valentine's Day they had a breakthrough.

"Leshia," Julius' surprised voice came and the girl quickly looked up from her notepad (where she had in all honesty just been doodling) to see that the little creature was doing something strange with its face.

"What's it doing?" she asked curiously and she crouched down beside Julius beside the cage.

"I think…now I'm not entirely sure, but I _think_ it's trying to smile," the boy remarked in wonder. Leshia turned to stare at him with an incredulous look.

"No," she said in disbelief. "It's probably just going to be sick, I'd stand back if I were you." Leshia herself pulled back and put her hand on Julius' shoulder to pull him back as well when he showed no signs of moving. The boy allowed himself to be moved, though in the end there was no reason for Leshia's concern, because Julius had been right in his assessment.

"Look!" he crowed triumphantly as Gryff's ugly boggle-eyed face split into an uneasy grin. "Well done Gryff!" The Widgling's smile intensified and he hopped about, happy for the praise from his 'father'. Leshia eyed the little Widgling with a look of extreme unease.

"I don't trust it," she said eventually as Julius leaned closer. "Careful!" the girl complained and she pulled him back again. "The last time you got that close you were blinded for the evening remember?"

"He won't do it again," Julius countered and he extricated himself from Leshia's surprisingly firm grip. "I think he just wants attention." Reaching tentatively through the bars with one (still bandaged from the last encounter with Gryff) finger, Julius gently stroked the Widgling's head. Gryff seemed to be enjoying himself, but this was about to change when after a loud yawning sound Peekie (Rodeo and Rachel's Widgling – neglected in comparison to Gryff) appeared from their nest box. The female Widgling started making a strange sound and in an instant Leshia reached out and yanked Julius' arm back; just in time too, as all of a sudden Gryff turned into a buzzing angry little demon.

"Those buggers," Leshia grumbled. "It's Rodeo and Rachel's fault that we keep getting assaulted by our Widgling, they've been ignoring Peekie and now she's turned into a bloodthirsty maniac." To her surprise Julius started laughing as he placed a cloak over their cage, blocking out the stinging spit that was flying his way and the angry sounds from the creatures. "It's not funny," Leshia tried, but a smirk was pulling at her face and within no time both youngsters were laughing fit to burst over the stupidity of their situation.

"I'll have words with them tonight, tell them to get off their lazy backsides and do some parenting," Leshia told the enigmatic boy as they parted ways by the stairs, which would lead Leshia up to Gryffindor Tower and Julius down to the dungeons. She got to reply, but the boy did offer her a grateful smile, and this certainly was progress on the 'make friends with Julius' front. Leshia positively ran up to her common room; she had started making sure she never went anywhere alone, to prevent herself from having to endure another assault from the Slytherins (and she knew that Allseyer was planning something, as his smile was getting more and more devious every time he saw her; he still hadn't forgotten about her crippling blow to his pride over Christmas), and on the odd occasion when she did find herself alone, she would run to wherever she was going as fast as she could. Thankfully, on this occasion she wasn't hindered (Snape would often be the one to catch her and would always admonish her for running in the corridors) and she burst into the busy common room to find everyone in a state of excitement.

"Crnations," Rachel's voice exploded somewhere off to the right.

"Um…bless you?" Leshia offered with a frown.

"No you wally, I said carnations," Rachel repeated slower this time. Leshia nodded in understanding, but then the true meaning of Rachel's words descended on her.

"Oh no," she groaned, before dropping down on a spare seat at the table Rodeo, Parys and Katie were playing a game of snap at. "Not again." Last year, an awful promotion of Love Heart Valentine's messages had gone round the school and Leshia had been targeted by at least fifty of the damn things. She had forgotten that Valentine's Day was approaching and that there might be a repeat of last year's performance.

"Stop being such a spoilsport, it'll be fun," Katie complained with a big smile. Leshia scowled at her.

"Well I refuse to join in," she said haughtily, before she turned on Rodeo and Rachel with a determined expression. "You two have to start paying attention to Peekie, she's leading Gryff astray!" For the next hour Leshia badgered the poor youngsters until finally they agreed to go and see their Widgling just to shut the girl up. Leshia went to bed that night feeling oddly cheerful; it had been a very productive day.

XXX

Carnation fever took over the pupils of Hogwarts, and every day there was a swarm of youngster queuing up at the Carnation stand being run by a group of seventh years. Leshia stayed well out of it and hoped that she had managed to get the message out to enough people that she was not participating in any Valentine's Day events this year, so would everyone please leave her out of it.

Come Valentine's Day morning, she was feeling incredibly optimistic that the day would bring her no unwelcome surprises, but as she opened her eyes, she was instantly startled with the most unwelcome surprise of all.

"Tally!" the girl yelped and she scrambled out of bed to get away from her father's Houself's bulbous face.

"Tally brings Miss Malfoy a gift from master and Mrs Malfoy," Tally said haughtily and she presented Leshia with a small leather box, which was bound with a pink bow.

"Thanks," Leshia said uneasily, stretching out to get the box from the houself's hand without having to actually go near her. As soon as the box was in Leshia's outstretched fingers Tally disappeared with a crackle, leaving thankfully an absence of grey foul smelling smoke, which was her usually method of departure (a way of punishing Leshia when she was rude, which was more often than not the case). As the sounds of her friends waking up met Leshia's ears, she sat down on the edge of her bed and undid the beautiful silk ribbon, revealing a tiny card decorated with little cupids. It read:

_Happy Valentine Day darling_

_Love Mum and Dad_

With a small smile, Leshia placed the little card on her nightstand, before she carefully prised open the leather box to reveal a stunning gold heart, decorated all over with different sized red stones. The hearty hung on a dainty gold chain, and all in all it was one of the most beautiful necklace's Leshia had ever seen. Feeling entirely rotten that she hadn't done anything for her parents, she carefully took the necklace out of it's box and fastened it round her neck.

"Wow Leesh, that's beautiful," a groggy sounding Katie awed from across the room. Leshia spun around and grinned at the raven-haired girl.

"My parents just gave it to me," she said with a big smile. "I must have forgotten to tell them that I'm not celebrating Valentine's Day this year." Katie smiled fondly at the smaller blonde girl, before she busied herself with getting dressed for the day. By the time Leshia and her friends had made their way down to breakfast, the girl was feeling much more optimistic about the whole thing. Valentine's Day wasn't all that bad, when it was done in moderation. The castle was tastefully decorated with beautiful bunches of red roses bursting from every nook and cranny, and high above in the lofty ceilings lots of shrunken turtle doves fluttered from corridor to corridor. Everything at breakfast had some sort of pink or red theme: strawberry bread and jam, pink butter, scarlet porridge and even pink and purple eggs adorned the grand tables. Most of the school seemed to have made an effort, and many girls sparkled with make up and glitter, and several of the boys showed off their carefully styled hair dos. The couples of the school seemed entirely infatuated with one another; Ryan Lofting and Julia Walling were no different. The loved up Gryffindor seventh years had in fact been banished to the end of the table by their single friends due to their inappropriate loved-upness.

The first carnations of the day arrived in the first lesson of the day: transfiguration, and they were delivered to their lucky (or not in some cases) recipients by a variety of seventh years. Ryan Lofting and his friend Luka Ibrahim were delivering the first of the second year carnations and from the moment the two boys walked in Leshia knew her mood was about to deflate like a punctured balloon.

"Good morning Professor McGonagall," Ryan called out cheerfully as he and Luka burst in, both young men were grinning conspiratorially at Leshia, making her feel decidedly uneasy: what did they know that she didn't?

"Good morning," McGonagall returned with a small smile. "Yes go on, hand them out and then be gone with you," she said fondly; these two were favoured pupils of hers. Luka and Ryan then went about giving out carnations to seven lucky second years, leaving their bucket only somewhat empty. They feigned to make towards the door, before Ryan put his hand on Luka's shoulder.

"Wait we've forgotten someone," he said.

"Oh yeah, so we have," Luka agreed and they spun around and headed straight towards Leshia, who's cheeks glowed furiously.

"Happy Valentine's Day shorty," Ryan said cheerfully, while ruffling the girl's hair. As he did so Luka took hold of a vast number of carnations, at least fifteen, and dumped them unceremoniously on Leshia's desk. The girl stared at them in complete horror, as though the young man had just emptied a whole bucket of Widglings on her desk.

"Thanks," she finally managed sounding unimpressed. As soon as Ryan and Luka had shut the door behind them, the sound of their raucous laughter met Leshia's ears and her cheeks prickled even more with embarrassment. Everyone in the class remained absolutely still, watching both Leshia and Professor McGonagall to see what was going to happen next.

"Yes, well," McGonagall finally spoke sounding a little flustered. "Perhaps you ought to put those in the sink until the end of the lesson Miss Malfoy." Had the children known any better, they would have noticed that the old teacher was highly amused. Leshia quickly complied and quickly cleared her desk of the bright red spiky stalked flowers. By the end of the lesson two more deliveries had been offloaded on the second years and Leshia's pile in the sink had steadily grown to at least two-dozen roses. After the bell had rung and the children rushed off to get to their next lesson, history of magic, Leshia lingered behind.

"Is it okay if I leave them there until later?" she asked uneasily, evidently mortified by the whole thing. McGonagall smiled warmly at her.

"Just don't forget to pick them up at the end of the day."

XXX

By the end of the day Leshia's collection of flowers had grown so large she felt she could open up a flower shop and earn a fortune. Every classroom she had ventured into contained little bundles of carnations she had left behind and by the end of the day she employed the help of five friends to go and collect them all. The solution as to what she was going to do with them all had come about during Care of Magical Creatures when Hagrid had noted how pretty he found the flowers in the school, and how he wouldn't mind something similar to brighten up his cottage. Leshia had pounced on him and wouldn't leave him alone until he had accepted her delivery of carnations.

Katie and Rachel were in incredibly happy moods; both had accepted a large number of carnations too, each bearing a message of how pretty/amazing/kind/wonderful they were. They cherished each one and had already arranged them in pretty bunches in the dormitory. It took the girls, with the help of Rodeo and Parys, twenty minutes to retrieve the flowers and then a further twenty to pull the messages from their prickly stalks.

"You're going to spend forever reading these," Rachel remarked as she dumped another couple of bright red messages into Leshia's satchel (already overflowing with red pieces of paper).

"Do I have to? Can't I just give them to Gryff and let him shred them, you know how much he loves to destroy things?"

"No!" The girls looked up in surprise at both boys, who had seemed incredibly against Leshia's suggestion, before they both looked down with glowing cheeks – evidently there were messages amongst the mountain that they wanted Leshia to read. Katie grew incredibly withdrawn after this. She had been on a high after she had received a message she was certain came from Rodeo, but now this threw her right off again; who did the boy want? Her or Leshia?

After delivering the mountain of flowers to Hagrid, the five Gryffindors made their way back up to Gryffindor Tower, where Leshia spent the next hour or so reading through the messages. She was thankful that most of them were in thanks for the marvellous party she had organised at Halloween, but there were plenty more spouting nonsense about her 'perfect golden hair' and her 'sparkling blue eyes'. She was getting rather bored by the whole thing when suddenly she reached a message that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up:

_To my dearest, I'm coming for you_

"Um…Rachel? Katie?" The two girls came running the moment they heard Leshia's frightened voice and after a moment's confusion they realised what had Leshia so panicked. "Read this." Their eyes roved over the paper within seconds.

"Oh my God," Rachel gasped.

"We have to tell!" Katie practically exploded. "Don't be an idiot Leesh! How did he get in the school! He's here, he's going to get you!"

"But he can't be in the school," Leshia complained, feeling the sensation coming back into her face. "You'd think someone might notice a great big Death Eater wandering about the place wouldn't you?"

"He could be an animagus," Rachel suggested, still evidently shaken up by the whole thing. Leshia remained incredulous. "I mean he could be pretending to be a mouse so no one will notice him."

"So you're telling me, that the seventh years sold a carnation to a mouse? Tell me, how the heck would it hold the quill, in-between it's teeth? Perhaps with its tail?"

"Leesh stop being so flippant, we're only worried about you," Katie complained.

"Well so am I, but this is no time to back down. He's close, so what? We always knew he'd eventually get here, that doesn't mean we go running to our parents."

"Okay okay," Rachel said quickly, trying to sidetrack Leshia's temper, before she really got going. "So he's not in the castle, but you know what that means?"

"No."

"He's got someone working for him who is."

XXX

Over the next few weeks Rachel and Katie didn't leave Leshia's side for love nor money. They accompanied her to every quidditch practice, every visit to see Gryff (which in fact turned out quite nicely, because finally the children started to see some improvement when Peekie started to receive some attention) and wouldn't even allow her to go to the toilet on her own. By the end of the second week of such cotton wool treatment, Leshia was beginning to get extremely tired of the whole thing. As March was nearing the weather was becoming unseasonably warm, and as such, every opportunity they could find, the children would venture out into the grounds. One particularly sunny Saturday Katie was accompanying Leshia without Rachel's help, as the feisty redhead was in detention for talking back at Professor Snape.

"So what would you like to do?" Leshia asked her friend amusedly. "Sit me down on some high ground so you can keep watch over the gardens?"

"Oh very funny," Katie grumbled. "I could be working on my Transfiguration essay right now, but oh no, you wanted to go outside!" Leshia grinned and shook her head.

"Just go to the library will you? Nothing's going to happen, I mean just look, most of the school is out here!" Katie however, would not be shaken off and in the end she and Leshia ended up taking a stroll around the lake, they had not realised they were being followed.

"It's gone quiet all of a sudden hasn't it?" Katie suddenly announced, sounding more than a little worried. Leshia frowned and realised that her anxious friend was right. Normally the lake path was crowded with couples at the very least, as it was an incredibly picturesque route to take. However, on this occasion they were very much alone, with only the swaying of the trees and the soft lapping of the lake breaking the eerie silence.

"We should go back," both girls said suddenly and they started back towards the school, but to their utmost horror it would seem that retreat was not an option.

"Well…well…well…alone at last."

"Katie run!" Leshia cried out before she'd even laid eyes on the cruel face of Damian Allseyer, who was ever so slowly approaching them from the path up ahead.

"No Leshia," Katie hissed at her side, worry and anger in her tone. "Don't be a fool Allseyer, you're not going to start anything with me here are you?"

"You know, that's a very good point," Allseyer said sounding thoughtful. "Boys? See to this one!"

"Katie move!" Leshia suddenly burst out and she started to push Katie with all her might towards the trees, while all the while two of Allseyer's many accomplices were advancing on them. "I'm not going to let you get hurt for my fight now just get out of here and get help!"

"But they'll hurt you!"

"Yeah well they'll hurt you too!" The girls were still struggling with each other so much that the two burly third years who had approached stopped and looked to their ringleader for guidance.

"What are you doing? Get them!" Allseyer yelled angrily. Katie now saw that Leshia was right and as the two boys descended on them she scrambled away, tripping over a gnarled tree root as she went.

"Hey look!" Allseyer laughed and for a moment the two burly third years who had Leshia in some unimaginably painful hold stopped trying to hold the struggling girl and looked to see where Allseyer was pointing. "The stupid idiot's knocked herself out!"

"Katie," Leshia gasped when she saw the thin line of blood trickling from her friend's forehead, the large boulder at her side had been the evident cause of her blacking out, as the girl had fallen onto it after her trip over the tree root. "You have to get help she's got nothing to do with this," Leshia complained desperately, as she was dragged painfully towards the pointy-faced ringleader.

"Well that's assuming I give a damn about Potter," Allseyer snarled with a gleeful smile on his face – finally after months of waiting he was finally going to get the little blood traitor good. "Which I don't."

"You're just a spineless coward Allseyer," Leshia hissed darkly, for which she received a swipe across the face in return.

"You don't know how long I've waited to do this Malfoy," Allseyer said lightly, before he took a running kick and planted his foot in Leshia's side, causing her to fall to her knees in pain. "You hid behind that washed up Death Eater at Christmas time, but this time…" Another kick, to the girl's ribs this time. "He's nowhere to be seen."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," Leshia managed through her agony, and she spat away the blood that was trickling into her mouth. For a moment Allseyer seemed afraid, and he looked around himself like a startled rabbit. Despite her predicament Leshia started laughing, something which earned her a very painful kick to the face, causing blood to pool in her mouth. "You're such a coward!" she shrieked, blood flying from her poor damaged mouth as she did so. "Mark my words Allseyer, you're going to get what's coming to you, there's nothing standing in my way now." These were the last words Leshia managed to make before another horrendously painful assault began. It seemed as though the cruel and sadistic Slytherins were going for broke this time, as they dragged Leshia's battered body over to the lake to see how much fun they could find from dunking her repeatedly into the icy water. Every time they shoved her under, tears escaped from Leshia's eyes, as she wondered whether this would be the last time they would allow her to resurface. Would they dare do what they had been threatening to do all year?

"Help!" she screamed out under the water, as she was pushed cruelly into the gravely sharp lakebed, etching little cuts into her already wounded face. She didn't know who she was calling out to; all she knew was that she was beginning to lose the strength to fight back. One more dunk under the water and she was sure she would never resurface.

"Ahhh!" In a flurry of action Leshia was released and carried by scaly fingers to the lake shore, where she was laid carefully, barely conscious, on the pebbles. The startled Slytherins were running away from those sharp beaks that had bitten their ankles and the sharp claws that had scratched their flesh. Leshia was saved once more from oblivion and after vaguely opening her eyes to see what had happened she dearly wished she hadn't: three terrifyingly non-human faces were staring down at her with something that could conceivably have been concern.

XXX

"I don't remember anything," a voice was saying somewhere in the distance. It might possibly have been her own, she wasn't sure. Was she conscious? Or was this some sort of ghastly nightmare? Why were the lights out? "I really don't remember anything," the voice repeated.

"Yes I do," Leshia cried out and she struggled against the darkness that was binding her.

"Leshia?" That tearful voice, that was her mother wasn't it?

"I _do_ remember it," Leshia repeated vaguely.

"Oh Draco what's wrong with her?" Hermione's voice cried, as she stroked the damp hair from her daughter's bruised (yet repaired for the umpteenth time) face. Leshia seemed to be in some sort of trance, as her body struggled desperately against a foe her parents couldn't see. At his wife's side Draco knelt down, placing his strong hands on his daughter's shoulders and squeezing them tightly.

"You have to wake up now Leshia," he said firmly, squeezing her poor injured shoulders very tightly, trying to free her from the darkness that held her.

"Draco don't be so firm," Hermione complained tearfully, and she tried to release his hands.

"Oh so you don't want her to wake up?" Draco countered cruelly, the pressure of finding his daughter battered on the lakeshore making him callous and uncaring. Hermione squeezed her eyes shut and sat back on her chair feeling as though the world were coming to an end. Draco sighed heavily, hoping to convey that he didn't intend to be so cruel, before he looked back to his daughter, who as yet still remained unconscious. "Wake up!" he said loudly.

"I am awake," the response came, though from the frenzied struggling and the distorted expression on the girl's face, this was not entirely true. "Where are you?" Draco shut his eyes tightly, before he inhaled slowly, gathering strength for what he was about to do.

"Wake up," he practically yelled, while shaking the girl's shoulders very roughly. If the youngster wouldn't respond to coaxing (as they had been doing for the past hour) then he would bloody well shake her out of her trance.

"Ow," Leshia's suddenly more conscious response came, and the girl finally opened her bloodshot eyes to find her parents' faces hovering inches above her. "Why were the lights out?" she asked vaguely.

"That's enough Draco, let me through," Poppy said sternly, and she pushed the young man aside so she could have a look at Leshia's pupils. "Do you know who you are?" she asked sounding concerned, and yet a little flustered and angry – she was tired of looking up to find a dozen people rushing in with this girl's unconscious and battered body.

"Yes, Leshia Malfoy," the girl groaned and she reached up and touched her face, checking to see if everything was still in tact, because it sure didn't feel like it.

"Do you know who I am?"

"Yes Madam Pomfry."

"Very well then, you'll make it through, _again_," Madam Pomfry said sternly. "But I want you to realise just how close you were this time to never waking up again. Ten minutes later and there would have been nothing I could do."

"Poppy, please," Hermione's soft voice came and the flustered woman took her leave leaving Leshia trying to sit up in bed.

"I would suggest you don't try to move," Draco told her brusquely, and he reached out a hand to hold her shoulder down. "Your head might fall off if you do."

"Draco!" Hermione laughed, despite her fear. "Of course it won't darling." Leshia looked very much reassured, but before she could ask what had happened she was pulled into an almighty hug by her father. Seeing his daughter beaten to a pulp, barely recognisable and surrounded by three mermen had shaken the young man to put it mildly.

"I can't do this anymore Leshia," he said softly into the folds of her shirt.

"I know," the girl whispered meekly, as the tip of her nose prickled and tears welled up in her eyes; she hated causing her parents such pain. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry," Draco complained and he pulled back looking distressed. "Fix it!" A tear rolled down his daughter's cheek and Draco quickly reached out to wipe it away. "Don't you waste any tears on them," he told her strangely, the suppression of emotion causing his vocal cords to tighten.

"Wait," Leshia suddenly gasped. "Where's Katie?"

"I'm here." The raven-haired girl was sat on the neighbouring bed with a thin red cut on her temple. Leshia's face crumpled in relief to see her alive and well, but this relief was soon to be replaced by concern as she took in Katie's heartbroken expression.

"What happened Leshia? I can't remember!" Feeling so utterly helpless that she had escaped with a mere bump on the head and that Leshia had nearly died, Katie had no recollection of what had happened or who had done it. She knew that if she could remember she would have told as soon as she had the chance, but the memories wouldn't come, and she had watched helplessly as Leshia was put back together.

"I…" Leshia began and she hung her head. "You tried to save me," she said softly, and she looked up in time to see a tear roll down Katie's cheek.

"Hey now," Hermione said loudly and she sat down next to her best friend's daughter, wrapping an arm around the girl protectively. "No more of that. Everyone's fine, there's nothing to cry about. Now how about we open some of these sweets, I've been eyeing up those chocolate frogs for hours now." The two girls managed to laugh a little and by forcing away the terror that pulled at Hermione's heart, she and Draco managed to cheer up the two shaken up girls, and within no time, they seemed back to their old selves.

Katie was discharged that very night, though Leshia had to wait two more days for her body to catch up. Draco himself collected her from the Hospital wing, but instead of leading her back to Gryffindor Tower, Leshia was mortified to be instead led towards the courtyard, which could only mean one of two things; either her father felt she could do with a walk around the flower beds, or he was leading her towards the headmaster's study.

"Dad?" the girl asked worriedly as they stopped outside the phoenix statue.

"Heaven Drops," Draco told it and the circular staircase rose out of the floor. After offering his daughter a quick hug, Draco pushed her gently onto the staircase and watched as she slowly ascended to the headmaster's study. He would not leave the foot of the stairs until she was safely back by his side. Once the stairs had brought Leshia to the grand door of Albus Dumbledore's study, she felt her resolve crumble. How could she lie after all that had happened? The door opened without her even having to knock, and as it did so Leshia stepped in, instantly meeting eyes with the elderly Headmaster, who had risen from his seat and was waiting for her.

"I think it's time you and I had a little chat."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

End of PART IV

Review, review, review, just spent the last three hours writing when I should be sleeping so I can get up and study in the morning, so I could post this chapter. I know what you're thinking, stupid girl, not my fault you're so irresponsible, and yes, you're right, but PLEASE review if you enjoyed it, it's only fair :)


	6. Part Six

**Generations: Tales of the last stand**

**PART VI**

There was no twinkle in his eyes as the girl was used to seeing whenever the old man looked upon her. His expression was grave and extremely sad; the youngster felt incredibly guilty to have caused the headmaster to feel such concern. So many people had now been dragged into an issue that was strictly her concern alone. It was painful to think of so many people suffering, but Leshia couldn't let them get to her, if so then her suffering, along with everybody else's would have been for nothing. She had to get her act together and sort this out before more and more people got hurt along the way.

"Please, take a seat," Dumbledore offered the girl, speaking tentatively, and watching the youngster for any sign of distress. Aside from a little light bruising, she seemed to be perfectly fine, which was a miracle considering the amount of grief her small body had sustained over the last few months. "I trust you are feeling well?"

"Yes sir." With a heavy sigh the headmaster took his own seat behind his desk, the grave expression never leaving his aged face.

"I have spoken with your parents, and I see that they are under the impression that you are going to try and resolve your problem on your own grounds." From the tone the headmaster was using, it was evident that he didn't agree with them.

"I'd like to try sir," Leshia said softly.

"Yes I'm sure you would, but Leshia this has now gone so out of control, that the decision is no longer in your hands, on two occasions you have nearly perished. I cannot allow a gang of dangerously aggressive children to go unchecked in this school, I have the safety of the other pupils to think about."

"But sir they're not after the other pupils, they're after me!"

"And your safety means nothing?" The headmaster's gaze seemed coolly determined. "I am sure that even if you do not hold your life in such high esteem, then your parents and friends would beg to differ."

"I don't go looking for trouble," Leshia interrupted indignantly.

"And yet nonetheless it finds you." For a moment the two stared into one another's eyes with equal feelings of determination; Leshia to keep her secret from the headmaster, and Dumbledore to put an end to this before either the parent body found out, or the gang of assailants finally succeeded in their mission. "I cannot make you tell me of course…"

'Damn right,' the girl thought fiercely. For a moment Dumbledore paused and actually smiled at the girl, as though he too had been witness to Leshia's private thought. Leshia's cheeks blushed furiously, and she realised it was stupid of her not to realise that the most powerful wizard in all the land was probably very capable of legilimensy. If that were the case though, then why could he not simply read her mind and extract the information he wanted?

"There is no way for me to find out what you keep most secret, without you actually telling me, or with the use of truth potion, which I am happy to say is forbidden to be used on a student."

"Well then can I go?" the young girl asked boldly; so boldly in fact that the old headmaster smiled.

"Not yet," he said with steely determination in his eyes. "I would like to show you something." With this Dumbledore got to his feet and walked towards a beautifully ornate cupboard on the other side of his study. "Come, join me please." As Leshia scrambled to her feet and made her way open, the old man opened the cupboard doors to reveal a stone bowl-shaped object that Leshia had seen once before. It was a pensieve, which could only mean that the headmaster was ready to share his memories with her. For a moment the girl was struck with mixed emotions: curiosity and fear. Last time the headmaster had been very efficient in changing Leshia's mind over her affections for her father, when she had been furious with him, would he be so effective once more? However, she was also curious over what memory the headmaster had chosen to mimic her situation? "I take it you are still familiar with this device?"

"Yes sir," Leshia said softly.

"You needn't look so alarmed child," Dumbledore said lightly before he lifted his wand to his head, urging the bright strand of memory to depart from his head.

"I'm not alarmed sir," Leshia grumbled and she waited patiently until the memory had been transported to the bowl, promptly turning into a cloud of swirling energy. The old headmaster was watching Leshia with a significant look and she realised that it was evidently time to dive face first into the mysterious swirling memory cloud. After inhaling slowly, as though gathering about herself the strength to resist whatever secret weapon the headmaster had conjured, the girl leant over, pressing her face into the memory. After a strange swirling sensation she found herself back in Dumbledore's study. The headmaster hadn't changed and neither had the surroundings. How curious, he was evidently showing her a recent memory, but what could it be…

There was a knock at the door and Leshia rushed to the side of the headmaster's desk to await whoever it was that had come to see Albus Dumbledore. Moments later she wished dearly that she could retreat from this particular memory as there, on the threshold of the grand door stood Hermione, looking the worse for wear with eyes red from crying.

"My dear Hermione, come in," Dumbledore called out to the young woman, and she rushed in, taking the seat inches from Leshia's eavesdropping presence.

"Oh Albus, she's so stubborn," Hermione exclaimed sounding almost quite stubborn herself, so much so that the old headmaster smiled broadly.

"Children often have little choice but to follow in their parents footsteps," the headmaster said kindly. "I feel you and Draco have imparted onto her more stubbornness than you would have liked."

"But this is serious," Hermione sighed and she seemed to gather her wits about her, looking ashamed for allowing herself to lose her precious control. "Whoever it was is going to try again, and the next time she might not be so lucky."

"You must try to urge her to reveal the identity of her attackers Hermione, I worry that these children are going unpunished," Dumbledore sighed, and Leshia noticed that the twinkle had left his eyes and he looked grave. "To attack a defenceless girl is inexcusable. Many years ago, back when I was a pupil at this very school, events similar to these occurred. A bitter rivalry between two children led to the ritual thrashing of a young boy several times a month, who eventually succumbed to the trauma, and to the very last days of his life he lay irreparable in St Mundos." Hermione winced and looked to her lap, feeling pained at the thought of such a fate overcoming her daughter. "That young man never revealed the identity of his assailants, and when it had become too late he was incapable of doing so. Whoever was responsible, and we the student body had a very good idea over who it was, got away."

"I just couldn't lose her Albus…not again," Hermione whispered and tears welled up in her eyes once more, an image so distressing that Leshia had to look away, forcing herself to concentrate on Fawkes the Headmaster's loyal Phoenix, who silently slept on the other side of the office. "Draco's furious, I'm scared of what he might do…"

"Something that is no doubt troubling your daughter also. However, I would suggest we worry more for what young Leshia intends to do. She is much like her father, revenge is likely to be at the forefront of her thinking." A silence followed, in which Leshia dared to look back at her mother, but soon she wished she hadn't. Hermione had shut her eyes tightly, and a few tears were trickling over her cheeks. The pain of seeing the trauma Leshia had caused her mother was most acute and for a fleeting second the girl was ready to confess everything she had fought so hard to withhold.

"I doubt there's anything that I could say that would make her change her mind," Hermione finally said softly and she opened her eyes, an action that only intensified the agonised expression on her face, as they were filled with sorrow. "Perhaps…perhaps we should leave this place…" Dumbledore looked shocked, as did Leshia's ghost-like presence.

"No!" Leshia cried out angrily.

"I don't think the situation warrants such an extreme action yet," Dumbledore countered quickly.

"Exactly!" Leshia grumbled, her feelings of remorse dissipating like a cloud of smoke. Hermione shook her head, suddenly looking determined.

"If that's the only way I can protect my daughter, then that is what I'll do," she said softly. "I missed out on nearly six years of her life Albus. Those are six years I will never get back. I will not lose out on the rest of her life if she is going to lie incapacitated in St Mundos from now on." Leshia started to feel angry again, there was no chance that was going to leave school, especially not over someone so revolting as Damian Allseyer, and the fact that Hermione was suggesting it made her feel angry towards her mother also.

"We'll see how things develop Hermione, you mustn't make any rash decisions, perhaps this was a one-off event and it will not happen again," Dumbledore said seriously. "Though you must do what you feel is right of course…" The office started to dissolve into a swirl of colours and soon Leshia found herself standing beside the present day headmaster and the swirling memory in the pensieve. Dumbledore looked almost expectant as Leshia turned to look up at him, but was dismayed by the angry frown on her face and the coldness of her grey eyes.

"Can I go now please sir?" the girl asked sounding detached, the anger stirring deep within her when she noticed the look of disappointment that crossed the headmaster's face. She had never seen such a look cross his kindly face before, and its materialisation fuelled her anger. How dare everyone try to meddle in something that was strictly her business! Well-intentioned or not, this did not excuse every Good Samaritan from poking their noses in where they weren't wanted.

"Yes you may go," the old man finally said softly, and he watched with saddened eyes as Leshia turned on heal and walked straight out of his study. It would seem that Leshia had turned out more like her father than he had ever imagined. That girl was definitely a Malfoy…perhaps beyond redemption and forever so.

Waiting at the bottom of the phoenix statue stood Draco, who breathed out a sigh of relief when he saw his daughter appear once more. Though the sour look on her face set of innumerable alarm bells in his head.

"What's wrong?" he asked her with a frown.

"I'm not leaving school dad," the girl said firmly. "Whatever rubbish mum's been talking about, I am _not _leaving."

"Don't talk about your mother that way," Draco said gruffly. Leshia exhaled exasperatedly and she shook her head with an angry look.

"Just leave me alone," she complained and pushed past her father, heading towards her common room.

"Leshia," Draco called after her brusquely, but the girl ignored him, and for now, he let her go. Once more he spoke the password to the statue and ascended the spiral staircase as soon as it allowed him passage. It was time to get to the bottom of this. What was all this nonsense about Leshia leaving school, what had Hermione been saying?

XXX

For the second time in Leshia's time at Hogwarts, people turned to stare at her as though she were on the Ministry's top ten most wanted criminals list as she passed them in the corridor on her way to Gryffindor tower. For the most part Leshia ignored them, but when Ryan Lofting and his friends stood in her path, blocking the way forward, she looked up at them defiantly.

"What are you doing?" Ryan asked accusingly. Leshia wrinkled her brow and looked from one concerned face to the next.

"What does it look like? I'm walking."

"Very funny, I mean what are you doing on your own?" the seventh year captain said sternly.

"Oh don't you start, I don't need an armed escort to walk from one end of the school to the other."

"Well evidently you do."

"It didn't help last time did it?" Leshia complained angrily, but then felt bad for belittling Katie's attempt to defuse the situation down at the lake. "I didn't mean that," she added quickly sounding calmer. Ryan looked on the girl with an almost agonising expression of concern.

"None of us want anything to happen to you Malfoy," he said gruffly, making Leshia feel a little despairing; what was it about her that made every male turn into her father whenever they were around her?

"Everyone's been really worried," Ryan's friend Luka chimed in.

"Look it's not going to happen again," Leshia said darkly, and for a moment she looked truly evil. "Trust me."

"What are you going to do?" Ryan asked nervously.

"Whatever it takes," the girl replied, before she shook her head once and then beamed up at her quidditch captain. "Anyway, is it okay if I go now? I bet the other's are wondering where I've got to." Ryan nodded slowly, before he reached out and squeezed the back of Leshia's neck.

"Look after yourself," he said emotionally, before the three seventh year boys cleared the path, allowing Leshia through, watching her back retreating with varying degrees of worry. Collectively they thought of the young girl as a little sister to their group, and the thought of anyone hurting her was almost unbearable.

Leshia suffered no further interruptions on her way to Gryffindor tower and soon she had spoken the password at the portrait hole and was granted access into the common room. Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared as Leshia walked in, but then promptly looked away when she looked fiercely at them all. All of the girl's friends were gathered by their usual window box and Leshia slinked over to them, squeezing onto the chair Rachel was occupying as she took part in the wizarding chess match with Rodeo – the pair had got quite friendly since their forced pairing for the Widgling assignment.

"Are you all right?" the redhead asked softly, her brow furrowed in concern. Leshia smiled warmly at her and nodded.

"Never better," she said firmly, before seeking out Katie's worried eyes. "How are you feeling?"

"Good," Katie replied lightly.

"She's been complaining all weekend about her poor head," Rachel chuckled.

"Have not."

"I kept telling her that a bump on the head is nothing compared to having your whole head put together again like you had, but she wouldn't stop." The two cousins were grinning at one another, something that made Leshia feel fantastically good. It was nice to see her friend's weren't intending on wrapping her in cotton wool and that they had found a way to make light of the awful situation.

"It's not funny." Everyone turned to look at Rodeo in surprise and noticed that he seemed to be waging some sort of internal battle. "You could have been killed Leshia! Why can't you leave well enough alone?"

"Excuse me?" the blonde girl managed sounding shocked.

"You heard me, just stop letting them hurt you! And now to make things worse you've dragged Katie into it! You're being so selfish!" Leshia's jaw dropped, and a jealous ripple coursed up her spine. So, he was only really concerned about Katie. Well, that was nice, considering all Katie had endured was a small bump on the head when Leshia had been beaten to within an inch of her life.

"Rodes," Parys said urgently, glaring at the boy for being cruel to Leshia after all that she had been through.

"No! She has to be told! Your friends would do anything for you and you're being so selfish putting them in such danger!" Rodeo continued on, like a steam train with no hope of abating the angry words.

"Rodeo…" Katie tried desperately, worried to upset Leshia even more.

"No Katie she has to be told, and you're too nice to tell her yourself…"

"I would never purposefully endanger my friends," Leshia hissed angrily. "They mean everything to me!"

"Doesn't seem like it," the boy grumbled, looking worriedly to Katie, as she was looking very upset now.

"Look if you fancy Katie then why don't you bloody well do something about it?" Leshia yelled angrily and everyone looked at her in surprise. The girl glared furiously at Rodeo, before she climbed to her feet. "Excuse me." With this she rushed off heading for the dormitories, leaving her friends staring at one another in shock.

"Well done," Rachel grumbled and she got to her feet following in Leshia's footsteps, leaving Katie glowing bright red and avoiding Rodeo's gaze.

"Katie…" he said softly.

"I have to go check on Leesh," the raven-haired girl uttered and then she too rushed off in the direction of the dormitories. Moments later she found Rachel and Leshia sat on top of one of the window benches in the dormitory. The blonde girl's face crumpled in apology when she saw Katie.

"I'm so sorry Katie, I didn't mean to be so horrible. I just…I feel so bad for what happened to you."

"Don't be stupid," Katie said brusquely. "I put myself in that situation." The tall girl sat down on the other side of Leshia, cocooning her in protectively. "Ignore Rodeo, he's just been worried that's all. He is a boy after all." Leshia sighed and shook her head.

"It's not just him though is it?"

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"My mum, she wants to take me out of school…or at least she did after the first time I got beaten up. I don't understand how she thinks that would help."

"Take you out of school? What, for good?" Rachel gasped looking too horrified for words. Leshia nodded glumly.

"She wouldn't," Katie quickly added, trying to sound self-assured, but failing miserably. Despite their differences, Leshia was a very valued member of Katie's life and if she were to go, then the raven-haired girl would feel most distressed.

"Come on, dinner's going to be ready soon," Rachel said bravely, forcing away the panic that was spreading through her chest. The three girls were very sombre indeed as they made their way down to the great hall, a journey in which the two cousins guarded their friend protectively, by walking either side of her, casting any curious onlookers feisty glares. Most of the Gryffindors surreptitiously watched as Leshia walked down their ranks, her head held high, until she found a place by their fellow second years, her back turned on the rest of the school – many of whom were watching her curiously; almost the entire student body had witnessed the girl's broken and bleeding body being rushed up to the school and were amazed to see she had remained in tact after such brutal injuries.

"How are you Leesh?" Nicola asked looking concerned.

"Never better," Leshia replied with a beaming smile. "Wow, this looks so good," she added quickly, deftly changing the subject to the delicious dishes adorning the grand table. "The food in the hospital wing is abysmal!" There was an element of truth to her words, and it puzzled the girl why the hospital wing offered such a sub par version of dinner; perhaps it was to deter pupils from returning.

The girls were thoroughly enjoying themselves as the second years caught Leshia up on the school gossip. Leshia couldn't contain her raucous laughter when she heard that poor Millie Mitten from Hufflepuff had found herself stuck in one of the bathroom cubicles due to the her enormous size.

"So how did she get out?" Leshia asked looking amazed that such a thing could have happened.

"They had to use the enlargement charm on the cubicle," Ashley sniggered.

"God, her cheeks were scarlet all day," Rachel sighed. Leshia peered over her shoulder at the Hufflepuff table where the girl in question was sitting silently contemplating her plate of greens.

"Professor Sprout has put her on a diet," Katie added when she saw Leshia looking, but Leshia didn't respond, she was instead watching with a furrowed brow as Julius Black approached their table.

"What does he want?" Rachel scowled.

"Rach," Leshia whispered hoarsely. "Calm down."

"I was wondering if you wanted to work on the project after dinner?" Julius asked the moment he had reached the girl's side. "Seeing as we were meant to yesterday, but you were otherwise occupied."

"If when you say otherwise occupied you mean held against my wishes the hospital wing, then yeah."

"Of course," Julius said with a dark smile.

"Fine, I'll meet you there after dinner."

"We'll come too," Rodeo's voice came and Leshia spun around glaring accusingly at the boy, feeling very unlikely to want to speak to him in the near future.

"Oh you're joking," Rachel exclaimed. "I've still got that transfiguration essay to do for tomorrow."

"Well you should have done it earlier, we're going," Rodeo said firmly.

"Fine," Julius said simply and he left in order to return to his table. Leshia watched him go and briefly caught eyes with Allseyer. The despicable boy was smirking at her darkly, something that enraged Leshia. However, she managed to contain her anger, and instead rolled her eyes and shook her head, as though letting the boy know his act was getting old. The rest of dinner went by awkwardly, with Katie being off with Rodeo for showing a keen urge to guard Leshia and Rachel fed up that she was going to have to work through the night to finish her essay. Leshia kept to herself, wondering how she was going to crack Julius Black in order to utilise him as an ally.

When the time came to head over to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom the children walked in silence to the end of the hall where Leshia was waylaid by her mother, who looked determined – never a good thing.

"Mum we have to get to work on our widgling project," Leshia said bluntly.

"It'll only take a minute," Hermione said with equal force. Leshia rolled her eyes in true teenage-fashion, before she nodded to her friends.

"I'll meet you guys there." Within moments they had disappeared from sight and Hermione started to lead her daughter in the direction they had gone at a much slower pace.

"How are you feeling?" the anxious mother asked, adopting a much softer expression now. Leshia nodded with a shrug.

"Fine."

"I hear you had words with the headmaster."

"He's angry with me isn't he?"

"No, not angry…" Hermione trailed off and sighed. "Just concerned that you're not making the right choice. He seems most displeased with your father and I for encouraging you." Leshia frowned and looked up at her mother.

"Mum if you want me to sort this out then why are you planning on taking me out of school?" Hermione looked saddened.

"I don't _want_ to do anything," she sighed. "But if you can't stop this insanity on your own terms and you won't tell us who's behind it, then none of us will be coming back next year." Leshia lowered her brow in anger.

"Dad didn't seem so keen on the idea."

"Yes well I've talked to him, and made him see sense," Hermione countered.

"How did you do that?"

"I explained to him that if we didn't then you'd probably wind up dead, and believe it or not but your life is worth more to us than our jobs."

"I'd hate you forever," Leshia uttered darkly, feeling a painful sob wracking her chest, trying to get out; the thought of leaving Hogwarts was too painful to bear. Her mother sighed and closed her eyes tightly.

"I know," she whispered, before coming to a halt outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, from within which the loud sounds of Rachel and Rodeo arguing over their next move with their Widgling. "It hasn't come to that yet Leshia, and I pray that it doesn't. I would do anything to keep you safe sweetheart, I hope you can understand that one day." Leshia looked to the floor angrily, yet she didn't pull away when her mother leant down and kissed the top of her hanging head. With this Hermione walked away, feeling tears stinging her eyes and threatening to fall.

"Leesh?" Rachel's muffled voice came and then her head poked round the door. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Leshia sighed and she smiled reassuringly at her friend. "Everything's fine." With this the girls retreated into the classroom and Leshia found Rodeo and Julius knelt down in front of their cage trying to coax the widglings into their hands. However, thus far the only things they'd managed to encourage into their hands was a painful collection of widgling spit. "What _are_ you doing?" Leshia asked with a smirk.

"What does it look like?" Rodeo grumbled and he pulled back his hands, looking at his blistering fingers angrily. "Damn animals."

"Maybe they just don't like being touched," Leshia suggested and she crouched down beside Julius, pulling his arm back out of the cage. The widglings instantly calmed down as she did so.

"We shouldn't give up on them," Julius said softly and he looked to Leshia with a probing look. "Nobody is beyond saving."

XXX

In the weeks that followed Julius behaviour during their widgling sessions became tamer and tamer. Leshia was convinced the boy felt bad over what had happened to her out by the lake. Had he known and failed to prevent it from happening? Whatever his motives, Leshia was sure she was getting closer to manipulating him over to her side.

Life at Hogwarts seemed to be dying down to an almost monotonous rate, but the young Malfoy (and her parents) were happy for the change in pace. Many afternoons were spent down at the library trying to research the chamber of secrets, but very little information was ever of any use to the girls. Harry, of course, had absolutely refused to give away the entrance to the chamber and most of the parents still insisted that it had been destroyed.

"Maybe if we write off to the prophet again," Rachel whispered to her blonde haired friend during one particularly boring Muggle Studies lesson, who furrowed her brow, before shaking her head.

"If they didn't write back to us before, they're not going to start now. Besides, I heard a rumour that most of their archives got destroyed around the Battle of the Ages," Leshia whispered back.

"Uh, excuse me girls?" Ramble interrupted the pair of best friends, and they looked up in surprise. "If you have anything to contribute on Muggle medical institutions then please, speak up so as the rest of the class can hear?" Leshia and Rachel kept silent, but shook their heads. "Very well, then please, keep quiet, I won't warn you again." The girls waited five minutes for the teacher to get enthralled in her lecture on Muggle Hospitals, before they turned to each other once more.

"Maybe someone still has a copy," Rachel whispered softly.

"Who would keep newspapers from when our parents were our age?"

"Grandma keeps lots of old newspapers, maybe she has one."

"Yeah but she's not going to help us is she? Our parents have probably warned her…"

"That is it," Ramble snapped angrily, and both Leshia and Rachel looked up in surprise. What on earth was the matter with their normally charming teacher? "Detention, both of you. Come to my office at eight-o clock." Leshia and Rachel exchanged a grim expression.

"But Professor Ramble, I've got quidditch practice after dinner," Leshia tried.

"Well they're going to have to manage without you," Ramble said sternly. "For now as the pair of you seem incapable of keeping quiet, Leshia come and sit at the front of the class." With a roll of her eyes Leshia complied, grumbling to herself about this about change in Ramble's persona. Perhaps she was having a bad hair day.

For the remainder of the lesson Leshia leant her cheek on her hand and drifted off to Ramble's monotone lull about hospitals – had she been taking lessons from Professor Binns, the ghostly History of Magic teacher? As the bell rang she collected her possessions and leapt to her feet, rushing out before any of her peers. It was only the first lesson of the day on their most boring day of the week (despite the lengthy free period they had at the end of the day, to compensate for the dull astrology lesson they would be having at midnight), and consequently, by the time dinner arrived Leshia and Rachel were in foul moods at the thought of their impending detention. Katie's insistence that they work on their Potions homework (a rare group assignment) during their free period at the end of the day had not helped matters.

"You only have yourselves to blame," Katie said with a big smile when she saw the thunderous looks on her friends' faces.

"Shut up Katie," they chimed in unison.

"What the heck is up with Ramble?" Leshia grumbled. "She's always been so easy going up until now."

"Yeah, and seriously one warning and then straight to detention? Not even your dad is that bad!" Rachel added grumpily.

"Maybe she had lots of work to do and needed help, so she was trying to find an excuse to give someone detention," Katie suggested. Leshia shrugged.

"I'm sure she could have found someone more worthy of detention than us if that were the case. There's Lofting," the girl suddenly piped up when she saw Ryan Lofting approaching the table hand in hand with Julie Walling. "I've got to go and worm my way out of quidditch."

"I'll come with you, it's nearly eight, we may as well go," Rachel sighed and the two girls climbed to their feet. "Enjoy your evening alone," the red-haired girl shot at her cousin, before the two girls ambled their way up the table to where the seventh-year quidditch captain had just made himself comfortable.

"Lofting," Leshia called to him as they approached.

"Malfoy, what can I do you for?" Ryan countered cheerfully.

"I won't be able to make it to practice," the girl told him, and he instantly morphed into a fond-frown.

"Let me guess…" he began.

"Oh you don't have to, it's obvious," Leshia sighed.

"Who's it this time?" Luka asked at his friend's side.

"Ramble."

"You're going to have to make it up next time," Ryan said cheerfully.

"How?"

"Oh you know, couple of dozen laps round the pitch should do it." Leshia grinned and rolled her eyes.

"I'll have to make sure I get detention on Thursday too," she said happily and she waltzed off with Rachel in tow. Their ambling walk to Ramble's office dragged out their margin before eight-o clock and as such, by the time they'd reached the disorganised office they were five minutes late.

"Thank you for coming girls," Ramble told them, seemingly back to sorts; she didn't even remark on their tardiness. "There's your chore," the woman continued and she pointed to a number of oblong objects wrapped in old newspapers. "I've had one of my old colleague's old collection sent on from Australia and I'd like you to unwrap them carefully and organise them into boxes for later study. I've got a meeting so I won't be able to supervise you. Good luck." The teacher promptly left the girls to it and with two heavy sighs they sat down by the collection of old junk.

"What would she want with this rubbish anyway?" Rachel grumbled as she tore the paper off an old strange metallic object with two slits in it (had she paid more attention in last years Muggle Studies class when they covered muggle appliances, she might have recognised it as a toaster).

"Who cares? Let's just do this so we can go." And so the pair of them got to work, carefully unwrapping the old Muggle objects and sorting them into the boxes provided.

XXX

Katie, rather at a loss of what to do with herself decided that she would work on their Potions assignment alone. As she stepped out of the portrait hole though, it would seem she was not going to have to spend the evening alone.

"Hey Katie, wait for me!" Rodeo's call came and Katie spun around, her cheeks reddening, to find the boy clambering out of the hole after her, bearing a pile of Defence Against the Dark Arts books and a roll of parchment. "I'm going to start writing up some of the widgling project, mind if I tag along?"

"No not at all," Katie managed. The smile Rodeo granted her made her head swim and her knees feel week, but she managed to take control of her senses and together the pair of them made their way to the library. Rodeo talked and talked non-stop, which made it easier for the suddenly shy Katie to get away with her embarrassed silence. Once in the library, Rodeo was forced to silence by the irate librarian, but this didn't stop him from shooting Katie charming grins every few minutes. At times Katie's resolve was put to the test as the boy leaned close to her, whispering in her ear such things as,

"What's another word for horrible?"

The raven-haired girl was aware of what the boy was doing, and the alarm bells were going off in her head, but she didn't retreat and she didn't stop him. She was powerless to resist his charms; she had after all been swooning over him for many months. Besides, Leshia had given them her approval…hadn't she? Half an hour passed, and finally Rodeo shut his books.

"I'm heading back, you coming?" he asked hopefully. Katie wasn't quite ready to go yet, but she felt that if she refused then she would possibly be missing out on one of the most crucial moments of her life, so she nodded quickly.

"Yeah, sure." The two youngsters packed up their things and started back, ambling slowly, with Rodeo going in to a veritable overdrive of talkativeness. Had Katie known him a little better, she would have realised that this was Rodeo's nervous behaviour. The portrait hole was nearing, but before they reached it Rodeo suddenly stopped.

"Katie," he managed in a strangled tone. "I really like you." The raven-haired girl's heart started beating a mile a minute and she managed a wobbly smile.

"I really like you too," she said softly and she hung her had a little, avoiding Rodeo's keen eyes. In what seemed like a lightning motion the boy had suddenly lunged at her and was kissing her firmly. Katie didn't pull away.

XXX

Half an hour had passed in Ramble's study, in which the majority of Leshia and Rachel's task had been done, when suddenly Leshia froze as she stared at the object in her hands.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked with a frown. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have," Leshia quickly explained and she turned the object round to show her friend the picture of a young ghost. Dressed in a uniform that could only have come from Hogwarts, and drifting miserably through a bathroom that definitely looked as though it were in Hogwarts, it would be safe to assume the girl was in their school.

"I've never seen that ghost before," Rachel frowned. "What's it say?" Leshia quickly turned the object round once more and glanced to the title.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "Teenaged ghost holds key to location of secret chamber in school," the girl read aloud.

"You don't think?" Rachel began sounding equally as shocked. The sound of footsteps from up the corridor prompted Leshia to rip the paper off the muggle artefact and stuff it down her jumper. Just in time too, as the door handle turned and Ramble appeared with a big smile on her face.

"How are you getting on?" she asked them.

"Fine," the two girls replied quickly.

"Oh look what a wonderful job you've done. I'll tell you what, five more minutes and then you can go." The last five minutes of their detention positively crawled by, but finally Ramble gave them leave to go. Within moments the girls had scarpered and as soon as they headed off down the corridor Leshia pulled out the newspaper and the girl's poured over the story, which was evidently about the whole Chamber of Secrets palaver in their parents' second year.

"You don't think this ghost is Moaning Myrtle do you?" Leshia asked excitedly once they had reached the end of the article for the second time.

"Is she that ghost Amy and Sarah warned us about? The one that haunts the bathroom on the…"

"Yeah that's the one," Leshia interrupted her; she was far too excited to allow for any long deliberation on this. "If it is then we can just ask her can't we? I'll bet it is her and I'll bet she'll tell us. I hear she's a real loner and will talk your ear off if you go in there."

"Well what are we waiting for, let's go ask her," Rachel said hurriedly with a big smile.

"Let's go get Katie first!" Leshia countered and the two girl's hurried on, excited with the clues they had uncovered. Their excitement soon came to a rapid halt however, as they rounded the corner onto the portrait-hole corridor.

"Oh no," Rachel exclaimed in complete disgust as her eyes fell on Katie and Rodeo up the corridor. Leshia remained deadly silent, though her eyes did narrowed so enormously that Rachel was sure the girl oughtn't have been able to see anything. In the distance Katie pulled away from Rodeo looking surprised, before she noticed her two friends staring at her.

"Oh…" she exclaimed sounding mangled. For several moments the only movements the children made was to slowly turn and look at Leshia, who eventually managed to morph her expression into a neutral one.

"Come on, let's go tell her about the newspaper," Leshia said lightly and she started to walk towards the pair of kissers. Seeing the girl approach, Rodeo quickly glanced to Katie apologetically before he rushed ahead to the portrait hole and spoke the password, giving way to his escape route.

"Leshia, I…" Katie began sounding desperate.

"What?" Leshia interrupted with forced casualness. "I don't care," she added quickly. "Look at what we found in Ramble's detention." Katie glanced briefly to her cousin and was wounded by the accusing glare that lay there, but she reached out and took the paper nonetheless.

"Oh my goodness," Katie exclaimed in surprise, and the colour in her cheeks started to withdraw. "This is unbelievable. All this time and we only had to ask Moaning Myrtle!"

"We're going to go talk to her, are you coming?" Leshia asked, her grey eyes cold.

"Let me just drop this stuff off," Katie said quickly, indicating her heavy satchel of books. Without waiting for a response she rushed off, leaving Rachel watching her best friend anxiously.

"Are you sure you're okay about this?"

"Rach come on, just leave it will you?" Leshia complained and she sounded borderline angry. "I told you before I don't care what Rodeo does. If he fancies Katie then good for him, and if she fancies him back, then even better for him. I don't care!" By the anger that had crept into the girl's voice, and the frown that had slowly adorned her forehead, Rachel could immediately see through the lies, but if Leshia wanted to pretend, then so be it.

"Okay, so what are we going to ask Myrtle?"

Once Katie had rejoined her friends they discussed this issue in a very subdued manner. Eventually they reached the bathroom on the second floor that Moaning Myrtle had taken to haunting since her sudden demise many years ago. None of the girls had ever stepped foot inside the girls' toilets; even on one occasion when Katie had been absolutely desperate for the loo, she had chosen to sprint to the next toilets two corridors away. It looked no different to any of the other girls' toilets across the school. Granted, it had fallen into disrepair and puddles of water littered the cracked tiles; these toilets evidently were not used on a daily basis. However, the very reason for this, the cantankerous ghost said to haunt them, was nowhere to be seen.

"Myrtle?" Leshia called out unsurely, hoping that they had come to the right place. "Myrtle are you there?" The girl glanced to her friends with a furrowed brow; maybe this had been some elaborate joke by the upper-years to scare new students. The sudden sloshing sound from one of the cubicles however, soon put an end to that line of thought.

"Who's there?" a whining voice demanded.

"Uh…well my name's Leshia and these are my friends Rachel and Katie."

"What do you want?"

"We just wanted to talk to you," Rachel replied as tentatively as she could manage. A silence followed, in which more sloshing could be heard, but this was interrupted by a torrent of water exploding from the cubicle and suddenly a teenaged ghost had appeared before the girls. Petulant didn't even begin to describe the manner in which she glared at the trio of friends.

"Um, hello Myrtle," Leshia said kindly and she smiled uneasily at the grumpy ghost.

"Why would you want to talk to me? Nobody ever wants to talk to me!" the ghost wailed, before she drifted dramatically down the length of the cubicles, before perching on the window that lay there.

"Well, we've heard all about you from our parents, they said you were such a nice ghost…" Katie tried.

"Your parents?" Myrtle sniffed, unsure she believed anyone could ever say anything remotely resembling kind about her.

"Perhaps you remember them? My dad's Ron Weasley, and Leshia here, well her mum's Hermione Granger…"

"Oh yes, I know her, she comes to visit me from time to time," Myrtle sniffed elaborately.

"Really?" Leshia asked incredulously, unsure of why her mother could possibly want to visit this grumbling ghost. In response to her exclamation Myrtle made an extremely insulted noise, which soon turned into a wail, and Rachel and Katie gave Leshia a tired look, this was not the time to be insulting the ghostly girl. "I'm sorry," Leshia quickly called out. "She just never mentioned it, that's all."

"I'm not surprised, why would she mention poor insignificant moaning Myrtle?" the ghost whined. "What about you? You look familiar?" Leshia and Rachel turned to Katie and nodded urgently.

"Well my mum's Ginny Weasley and my dad is Harry Potter," the girl explained; this was a story she was tired of telling. She hated it that her dad's fame was worldwide, and that whenever people found out about her famous descent they would probe her with questions concerning her 'fabulous' father.

"Harry Potter?" Myrtle repeated sounding shocked. "Harry Potter got married? And had children?" Her tone had risen to an angry shriek, so much so that the girls fought the urge to cover their ears. Another wail followed, before Myrtle had evidently had enough and she dived into one of the toilets headfirst, leaving the girls looking at one another in surprise.

"Well that went well," Leshia sighed and she tentatively approached the cubicle. "Myrtle, who cares who our parents were? We just wanted to talk to you."

"Go away!" the ill-tempered reply came and another burst of water ejected from the toilet, giving Leshia barely enough time to jump out of the way.

"But we just want to talk, I don't suppose you get many visitors down here," Leshia persevered; she was so close to the information she needed and was not about to back down now.

"Why would anyone want to talk to miserable me?"

"Well…I have to confess we have an ulterior motive?"

"Leesh," Rachel hissed, but Leshia shook her head quickly, as though saying 'I know what I'm doing'.

"What is it?" Myrtle demanded from the U-bend of her chosen toilet.

"We saw you in this newspaper and were wondering if you could tell us how to get into the chamber of secrets?" More silence, and suspecting that Myrtle was going to emerge in a wave of toilet water once more, the girls backed away, lest they be caught in the flow. Their estimation was not mistaken, and soon Myrtle had reappeared, smiling gleefully at them.

"I'm in a newspaper?"

"Yes," Rachel said happily.

"An Australian one," Leshia added and she lifted the newspaper up for the ghost to see, who quickly descended on them to inspect the picture.

"Oh," she finally wailed. "They've taken a horrible picture!"

"What are you talking about?" Leshia countered charmingly. "I think you look beautiful in it."

"Liar!" Myrtle shrieked and Leshia looked affronted.

"Well no wonder you're lonely and miserable if you can't take a compliment."

"So that's why you've come, to poke fun at miserable, ugly, moaning Myrtle!" the ghost wailed and she once more returned to her perch on the windowsill. "Your annoying parents were just the same! They never came back after they found the entrance…"

"You mean it's in here?" Leshia asked sounding surprised. Myrtle glared at her furiously.

"It's by that sink if you must know, but fat lot of good it'll do you, you won't be able to open it!" With this the ghost shrieked once more and dove into her toilet. The girls didn't care however, they'd rushed over to the sink Myrtle had pointed to and examined every inch of it.

"How is this a gateway to the chamber of secrets?" Rachel asked sounding exasperated. "I mean what are we meant to do, climb down the plughole?"

"Hey! Look at this!" Katie quickly exclaimed in surprise and her friends rushed to her side to examine the strange serpent symbol on the side of the tap. "What do you suppose that means?"

"Try pushing it," Leshia suggested.

"Maybe we need a key or something, that fits into it?" Rachel added. The girls tried with no use to manipulate the tap in order to gain entrance to the chamber, until finally Leshia exclaimed an extremely angry profanity that caused Katie to admonish her.

"Myrtle how does it work?" Leshia called out and she marched over to Myrtle's toilet.

"I shan't tell you."

"The sooner you tell us, the sooner we'll leave you alone!"

"I told you, you'll never open it," the jeering voice of Myrtle came and her head poked out of the toilet. "You have to speak that special snake language…"

"Parseltongue?" Katie asked sounding surprised. "Is that how it's done? No wonder my dad could open it, he's a parseltongue!" Myrtle started to cackle teasingly.

"And none of you are. You're never going to get it open, I told you…" Fed up with the ghost's teasing Leshia reached out and flushed the toilet, causing the ghost to wail out angrily, before disappearing down the toilet. She was shaking slightly.

"Leesh…are you okay?" Rachel asked worriedly.

"She's right," the blonde girl exclaimed despairingly. "None of us speak parseltongue, and your dad's never going to help us. I'm never going to be able to sort Allseyer out, and I'll get taken out of school." A few tears fell from Leshia's angry eyes as the weight of her predicament came crashing down around her feet.

"Well maybe we can try something else?" Katie suggested gently.

"What's the point? I may as well just get used to the fact that he's won…"

XXX

Following their disastrous encounter with Myrtle, Leshia sunk into a state of continuous depression. The thought of leaving Hogwarts brought her near to tears and now she had resigned herself to this fate, nothing could rouse her from her misery. This sudden change in disposition was clear for all to see, and it triggered many changes around her that she was unaware of in her reclusive state. Allseyer stepped up his jeering, seeing his nemesis was near breaking point. Julius Black seemed incredibly tentative towards the girl in their widgling sessions. Leshia's own parents began to despair at their daughter's condition, which triggered all sorts of disputes between them. And last of all Rodeo, fearing this change in her temperament to be his doing, stayed well away from Katie, not even deigning to speak to her.

In order to combat her daughter's depression, Hermione started forcing the girl to join her parents at private family dinners several times a week. Leshia barely spoke and when she did, she managed to make her parents despair more at the morbidity of her thoughts. To make matters worse for the girl, ever since Valentine's Day, when she had received the frightening note from her grandfather, more had started appearing in the strangest of circumstances. They bore such messages as, _'You can't hide'_ and _'I'll reclaim what was taken from me'_, and had the strangest abilities of showing up in Leshia's satchel at the end of the day, or underneath her dinner plate in the main hall. For the most part she kept them hidden from her friends, but on one particularly horrible day, after which Leshia was forced to dine with her parents, she almost revealed everything to them in a moment of complete despair.

Sensing that his daughter was hiding something so sinister from him that he daren't find out what it was, but knowing he had to protect her, Draco joined her on the settee after dinner while Hermione set the plates to work.

"I don't know what to do," he said softy. Leshia barely managed to look up at him. Her father seemed incredibly withdrawn and grave. "I don't know how to protect you if you won't tell me what the matter is."

"There's nothing you can do," Leshia said softly and she hung her head, her heavy eyelashes closing, forcing away the tears that were gathering there. To cause her parents such grief was too much for the already despondent girl.

"But I want to help you! Just tell me how," Draco tried urgently, only to have Leshia shake her head sadly. "Please?" There was such pleading in his voice that Leshia finally looked up at him once more, and hated the desperation that lay in her father's face. She had caused him this pain. It was her fault. Once more however, she shook her head. "I won't be mad, whatever you want to do, we'll do it! Whatever you've done, I just don't care."

"Dad stop," Leshia interrupted him, on the brink of tears. "There's nothing you, or I, or anyone can do okay? There's nothing anyone can do." As she spoke these last words her voice constricted and a few tears fell. "Excuse me," she whispered, before she jumped to her feet and ran out of her parents' chambers, leaving her father hunched over, his face in his hands. What more could he do? He was failing as a father; where his main job was to protect his child and he was incapable of doing so.

That night Leshia threw herself into quidditch practice, and performed outstandingly. The only good thing to come out of her despondency was the passion she forced into quidditch training. The spring rains had arrived and would regularly drench the Gryffindor team; this night was no different. So much so, that Ryan called a premature end to the training.

"We'll have to regroup tomorrow," Ryan told the team grimly.

"Is it okay if I stay?" Leshia asked him as many of the others started retreating. Ryan's face contorted into a worried frown.

"I'm not so sure it's safe Malfoy, you should probably just come in with the rest of us," he told her.

"Please?" Leshia asked forcefully. "I have to!" Her captain looked to his friends for advice, but they merely shook their heads in concern; all of them were worried for their recently changed seeker and wished nothing more to help her through this evidently difficult time.

"You've got fifteen minutes! I'll come and get you," Ryan told Leshia, who nodded to him, before she took off again without a word. Lap after lap, the girl raced around the pitch, the torrential rain slamming into her skin with such force she could have sworn her face ought to be covered by bruises, but care she did not. Nothing mattered anymore; either Allseyer and his cronies were finally going to do her in, her parents were going to take her out of school, or her grandfather was going to capture her. All of these inevitable options meant the end of Leshia's world, and as such she was beginning to wonder what the point of living was. Even if she told her parents of Allseyer's identity, there would be more Slytherins waiting in the wings to take his place. She would never be safe.

Far down below on the sodden pitch a figure approached; hooded and tall, there was no doubt in Leshia's mind who this person was, and with a sudden anger she pelted down to the ground and started running towards the cloaked man she was sure was her grandfather.

"Take me then!" she yelled at him, her voice carried away from her on the rainy gales. "Just do it! What are you afraid of?" The girl's voice broke with her passion, and she stopped in her tracks watching as the figure too held his ground. A cruel laughter was brought to her by the winds and she shut her eyes tightly. "Just take me, please!" she cried out.

"Malfoy? What the hell are you doing?" This was Ryan's voice and Leshia prised her eyes open to see the figure had gone. "Who were you yelling at?" The tall seventh year had reached the girl's side and he flung an arm around her shoulders, dragging her back towards the school.

"Didn't you see it? The figure?" Leshia asked desperately.

"No, I didn't, now come on before you catch your death out here." Leshia allowed herself to be led back to Gryffindor Tower, where she quickly changed into her nightclothes and spent the rest of the evening looking out over the rain-swept grounds. More than once she could have sworn she saw the silhouette of the cloaked figure that was haunting her steps.

XXX

It was the last lesson of the week, a triple period of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Leshia and her friends arrived late at the queue outside the classroom, as Rachel and Katie had found it exceedingly difficult to motivate Leshia into returning to class after lunch. Their arrival prompted a chorus of laughter from the unpleasant Slytherins, who had all been relishing in Leshia's sombre demeanour and taking claim for it. Only Julius refrained from joining in and leant against the wall looking the other way.

"Hello blood-traitor, having a nice day?" Allseyer cackled jeeringly. Leshia stared at him with a dead expression.

"Ignore him Leesh," Rachel said firmly and she grabbed Leshia's arm, spinning her away from the hoard of Slytherin bullies.

"Yeah go on, run and hide, it won't stop us from finding you," Allseyer jeered cruelly. "Your time's nearly up Malfoy make with it what you will." Leshia's brow barely furrowed in pain and anger, and her lack of response was misconstrued as cowardice by her nemesis, who once more triggered a chorus of malicious laughter. The sounds of heavy footsteps coming from down the corridor promptly put an end to their jeering and soon Draco had reached the group, taking note of his daughter's expression and the mirth on the Slytherins' faces. Right. They were going to pay for that one.

"Is there any reason you feel the need to cause so much racket I could hear you two corridors away?" he asked the Slytherins darkly, anger lacing every single word he spoke.

"No sir," several of the children exclaimed quickly, earning them mocking smirks from their Gryffindor counterparts – all except Leshia, who continued to hang her head shamefully.

"Five points from each of you, now get in," the unpredictable teacher ordered angrily and he flung the door open for the children to follow, which they did uncertainly. Rarely before had they seen Professor Malfoy so enraged. As the lesson started Leshia barely managed to lift her head to watch her father and for the most part she failed, her gaze drifting somewhere around his ankles. Her complete despondency was heartbreaking for her father, and every time he turned to look at her Slytherin tormentors he felt his blood boil slightly.

Everything seemed to come to a head when Draco requested the children take their textbooks out, and on doing so Leshia accidentally pulled out an ink jar, which fell to the ground and split open, all over Katie's shoes. It was all too much for the girl, who instantly lifted her elbow to her desk and dropped her forehead on her palm, her eyes tightly closed shut, in defeat. Draco's shoulders dropped at her resignation to defeat, but the Slytherins in the classroom found it hilarious and started laughing raucously, none so loud as Allseyer.

"It is the lowest form of cowardice to find amusement in another's struggle," Draco suddenly snapped, and he stalked over to the Slytherin side of the classroom and cast such a dangerous glare at Allseyer that he instantly stopped laughing. "And of all the cowards I have seen you feature amongst the lowest Allseyer." Draco's voice was rising, and in return, Allseyer was looking more and more afraid. "The rest of the class need not be hindered by your ways, so get out!" Everyone stared in horror at their teacher; had he gone mad?

"But sir…" Allseyer began petulantly.

"I said out!" Draco yelled and as he had now reached the boy's side her overturned the desk angrily; something that even caught Leshia's attention. Allseyer didn't need telling again, and he dropped to the ground, picked up his things and hurried out, muttering about his father and Dumbledore on his way out. Draco panted from anger and stalked to the front of the classroom where he took his seat behind his desk.

"Reach chapter nine in your books," he said softly, his head hanging. And so most of the class managed to do as he asked, ignoring the overturned desk in their midst and the look of complete defeat on their teacher's face. Only one continued to watch him in distress, and this was his daughter. How had she caused her father such sorrow…how had she let it come to this?

XXX

The following morning brought the arrival of the penultimate quidditch game of the year for Leshia and the rest of the Gryffindor team. Ravenclaw, their toughest challenge from the year before, would this year promise to be more scalable. With the entire team comprising of new additions. Last year's beaten champions had all been seventh years, but they had been secretly training replacements for when they graduated school. Leshia's main concern was Martin Lahara, the once commentator for quidditch, now turned Ravenclaw Seeker. He had been taught everything by his older brother Evan Lahara, the once seeker for Ravenclaw that Leshia had barely beaten the year before.

None of the other Gryffindors seemed worried about the way the game would turn out, as the line-up for their team hadn't changed and last year they had been crowned Quidditch Champions. All in the whole table was extremely exuberant on the morning of the match. Only Leshia hung her head over her breakfast, barely nibbling at the toast she had buttered for herself.

"Don't worry Leesh, you know you can win," Katie said reassuringly.

"Yeah, you've always caught it before haven't you?" Rachel added. Leshia shrugged her shoulders.

"It's raining," she merely responded. These were the only words the girls managed to eek out of their friend before they waved her off on her way to the changing rooms.

"She's totally and utterly lost it," Rachel sighed heavily.

"Rachel!" Katie admonished her cousin. "Don't be so mean."

"Well she has!" Rachel countered and her eyes revealed fresh tears. With all the insanity that was going on at home, the last thing Rachel had needed was for her best friend, her pillar of support, to lose her mind.

Ryan Lofting offered his team a thrilling and motivating speech that even managed to captivate Leshia's attention long enough for her to raise her eyes from the ground and watch, as the charming seventh year told them of how they would tread the path to victory. As the team walked out onto the sodden pitch they encountered a wall of sound, delivered by the entire student body. Everyone had turned out, not to be put off by the torrential rains, which had not abated since the beginning of March.

"Players, take your positions!" Madam Hooch called to the teams once Ryan had shook hands with Martin Lahara. Leshia instantly rose to the sky and once the whistle had been blown she took off to dizzying heights with such speed that many of the spectators 'ooohed' and 'aaahed' appreciatively. The game turned out to be more gruelling than anyone could have predicted, as the Ravenclaws had employed the help of a near unbeatable keeper. Where exactly, this miracle goal saving witch had come from, no one could say, but she was making it extremely difficult for the very able team of Gryffindor chasers to get a goal in. An hour into the game and the score still stood at merely twenty points to nothing in favour of Gryffindor.

This was not to say that the game was boring; quite the contrary, the spectacular attacks by the Gryffindor chasers, unbelievable saves by the Ravenclaw keeper and a magnificent airborne show put on by Leshia as she tried desperately to find the snitch in the horrendous weather, while pulling off some of her best ever flying, all culminated into this game being one of the most beautiful to watch in the history of Hogwarts Quidditch.

Leshia didn't allow herself any time to think, instead she kept herself on the move, flitting from one side of the pitch to the next, pulling off hair razing dives and ascents through the level of play in her search. Lahara could barely keep up with her. Several times the poor boy nearly collided with the battling chasers as he foolishly followed the more able seeker through the mid-level traffic.

It would seem though, that Lahara would be the first to catch sight of the elusive golden ball that would seal the fate of this match, and as soon as he caught sight of it he threw himself into a dive. Leshia spotted him and immediately caught up with him. They were evenly matched for speed, each having the same broom, and what followed was a violent battle of shoving, for who would be granted the front space and thus access to the snitch. The battling seekers were nearing the ground when finally, out of desperation Lahara threw out his elbow catching Leshia in the mouth. Warm blood coursed over the girl's tongue and she knew her lip had been split open. The pain of it briefly caused her to falter, and in this moment of opportunity Lahara pulled ahead, but the moments his tail twigs came into view something snapped deep within the Gryffindor seeker.

"No," she said firmly, as feelings of adequacy and anger at being walked over filled her. She was not a pushover, and she was not a loser! Feeling invigorated by her sudden will to live again; Leshia bent low over her broom and took off after Lahara, who was practically on top of the snitch. All around them the pupils of Hogwarts were yelling their throats hoarse as the suspense gripped them.

Never before had Leshia flown so fast as she did now. Lahara didn't see her coming, he was too foolishly pleased with himself as his fingers reached out to touch the golden ball, that he didn't notice Leshia appearing from below him and taking the ball from his grasp, before she violently ascended in front of him. Her sudden appearance caused the boy to spin viciously and embarrassingly out of control and it took him several terrifying moments to regain control of his wayward broom.

The Gryffindors were going positively mad and started chanting for their victorious reigning champion team. Leshia meanwhile had floated to the ground where several of her team mates were rushing over to her. As soon as they reached the young seeker they lifted her up into a messy hug.

"You star!" Daniella Wood, one of the seventh year chasers, crowed happily in Leshia's ear and the girl's face split into a happy smile.

"Malfoy are you alright? You're smiling!" Ryan exclaimed in fond teasing, and Leshia reached out and punched his arm.

"Shut up," she laughed. "And find me a medic before I bleed to death."

Thankfully, it never came to that and after Madam Pomfry had quickly healed Leshia's split swollen lip right there on the pitch the girl was given leave to go. She was instantly buried under her friends' vigorous embraces, but Leshia fought them off as kindly as she could; there were two people she needed to see. Her parents were waiting on the side of the pitch, and without thinking Leshia escaped her friends and ran straight over to them, not stopping as she reached their sides. Instead she threw her arms around both of them.

"I'm sorry," her muffled voice came from between their sides, causing her parents to exchange a surprised look; had their daughter finally returned to normal? "I'm sorry for being so horrible," Leshia continued and she pulled back, looking up at their faces anxiously. "I feel better now." Hermione smiled shakily as tears threatened to fall and she leant down and hugged the girl firmly.

"Thank God you're alright," she whispered.

"I'm so sorry," Leshia whispered back. "I never meant to hurt you." After squeezing the girl tightly Hermione stepped back and looked up at her husband, who looked amused.

"I don't understand you anymore," he said almost sadly, but then a smile pulled onto his handsome face. "But that's all right, I hear I'm not meant to." With this he pulled his daughter into a firm embrace and kissed the top of her sodden head. "Can you stop being a teenager now please?" he asked softly, wheedling a laugh out of both his wife and daughter.

"I don't think it's refundable," Leshia replied and she leant her chin on her father's chest, grinning up at him.

"Pity, I liked you much better before," her father said cheerfully.

"Draco," Hermione laughed and she hit his arm fondly. "That's a horrible thing to say." But Leshia was grinning and she shrugged her response.

"Did you get in trouble for…you know, the other day?" she asked worriedly, and finally pulled away from Draco to look him in the face properly. He grinned and shrugged.

"Course not," he said happily and he slung an arm around his daughter's shoulders and his other around Hermione's waist, leading his family back to the school in the wake of the cheerful quidditch supporters. "I mean if old Mad Eye Moody…or whoever he was…could get away with performing unforgivable curses in the classroom, then I should at least be allowed to turn over a desk or two."

XXX

"So you're telling me, that the next time you're upset, I can just punch you in the mouth and you'll snap out of it?" Rachel asked with a big grin as the three best friends gathered in their usual window box, still reeling from the quidditch glory. Leshia laughed loudly and shook her head.

"No you idiot, and besides, it's not going to happen again," she said firmly. "I can't believe I let it all get on top of me. So what we can't speak parseltongue, I bet there's a way round it! And if not, then we'll have to think of another way to silence that pig once and for all."

"Oh yeah, Julius wanted me to tell you that he wants to meet up with you at four to work on the widglings," Rachel suddenly piped up. That left several hours to kill, and for once Katie didn't pressure her friends to do their homework, and instead initiated an exuberant game of wizarding chess between her friends. By the time four rolled by Leshia was positively beaming. Julius seemed to register her change in disposition with two raised eyebrows, but he managed to refrain himself from remarking on it.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me on winning?" Leshia asked as she dropped down beside the cage and peered in at Gryff and Peekie, who seemed intensely happy to see her. Socialising the two widglings had come at a cost (severely blistered fingers for one, and the sacrifice of an enormous amount of free time), but finally the two widglings had developed into almost pleasant creatures. Gryff even allowed young Julius to hold him from time to time. With only a week left till the end of term, the young man felt it was time to start saying goodbye and to start writing up their essays on the matter.

"You seem to be congratulating yourself enough for the both of us," Julius remarked lightly. Leshia wrinkled her brow at the boy as she took out her thick notebook, which held a chronology of all their successes and failures with the widglings.

"You know," she said boldly, feeling determined from her earlier win, to try and get this boy on side. "You're not like the other Slytherins." The dark haired boy turned his pale probing eyes on her, his expression cold and calculating.

"Don't presume to know me Malfoy," he said darkly.

"Well you're not, there's no point in pretending to be like them. Come on, admit it, I bet you wish you hadn't been put in that house." For a moment there was silence, in which the boy's expression darkened.

"I am what I am," he finally growled. "And that is a Slytherin. You are what you are, a Gryffindor," he continued, placing cruel emphasis on the word Gryffindor. "I may not pander to that cretin Allseyer's whims and join in with his idiotic jeering, but that doesn't make me less of a Slytherin. It is he who brings the rest of us down." Leshia glared back at the boy.

"I don't believe you," she countered. "If you were truly a Slytherin, then you'd be horrible to me, instead your…" The girl trailed off, feeling a little humiliated. It would seem she had misread Julius Black.

"No please, carry on?" the boy crowed with a cruel smile. "Did you honestly think me to be your friend Malfoy? Did you think that I had fallen in with your fan club? Don't be so vein." Leshia glared furiously at the boy.

"I'm not vein," she hissed.

"Nor am I your friend," Julius snapped. "Don't forget who your enemies are Malfoy." For the remainder of the sessions the pair worked in silence, only speaking when it concerned the widglings. As six-o clock rolled by Leshia got to her feet and packed away her notes.

"I don't think we need to have another session," she said coldly. "I've got all I need to write the report."

"I agree," Julius approved equally as coldly. Without another word Leshia turned around and left, feeling her cheeks stinging with embarrassment. How had she misread Black so badly? Back in Gryffindor Tower Katie and Rachel were in their dormitory engrossed in their Transfiguration textbooks, trying to complete the difficult homework McGonagall had set them.

"Hey Leesh, something the matter?" Rachel asked warily, had their friend already changed her mind on cheering up?

"That idiot Julius Black is the matter," Leshia grumbled and she threw her notebook down on her bed angrily, before joining the others on Katie's bed. "I tried to get him to open up and he blew up in my face. He's more Slytherin than I ever imagined! I hate him!"

XXX

The last week of school flew by with the girls spending the majority of their time writing the massively long widgling reports for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Finally the time came to make the carriage journey down to station where the Hogwarts Express was waiting to bear the pupils back to London. Leshia, Katie and Rachel, along with their dormitory friends Ashley and Nicola, claimed a carriage for themselves, and spent the majority of the journey back gossiping, while gorging themselves on sweets from the trolley. The nearer London grew, the more reclusive and sad Rachel seemed to become, until eventually she ceased talking altogether.

Finally the train pulled into Kings Cross station to by met by a wall of eager parents, excitedly awaiting the return of their children for the holidays. The girls helped each other with their various trunks and pets and soon they were weaving through happily reuniting families, trying to catch sight of their own parents. It was Katie who spotted them first.

"Mum, dad!" the girl called out happily and she took off down the platform, straight into the arms of her jubilant parents. Rachel quickly followed, and her face split into a beaming smile when she saw the happy look on her father's face. He seemed much more joyful than the last time she saw him and would soon find out why.

"Where's mum?" the redhead asked warily.

"Spain, I think," Ron said simply. Leshia was happy for the joyous look on Rachel's face and then looked around curiously for her own parents. Where on earth had they gone? As the crowds started to disperse Leshia finally caught sight of her father's iconic shorn head and she started to rush forward, only to stop dead in her tracks when she saw why her parents were delayed. Draco was listening with narrowed eyes as a short and rather bulky man berated him. At the man's side Allseyer was smirking, and Leshia could only guess that this was his father.

"That idiot," she grumbled and she started forward once more, to protect her father from the evident slating he was receiving. Before she could reach her father's side however, Hermione suddenly appeared in her path.

"Don't sweetheart, let your father deal with this," Hermione ordered her gently, and Leshia scrunched up her face in agitation, but watched anyway as Draco nodded every so often to whatever this Allseyer senior was saying. Finally Leshia heard her father say,

"As I said, if you have any complaints then you really ought to take them up with the headmaster."

"I did, and a fat lot of good that did me, you're still teaching I see," Allseyer Senior grumbled. Draco forced a cold smile onto his face.

"There's very little I can do. I suggest, instead of haranguing teachers on the platform, you ought to go through official channels to uphold your complaint." Leshia could sense the danger in her father's tone and was surprised that the little man harassing him didn't seem the slightest bit perturbed by it. This was about to change though, as Draco (evidently a purposeful way to intimidate the little man before him) pushed the sleeves of his jumper up, revealing the faded dark mark on his arm. Allseyer Senior instantly saw it and then looked to his son.

"Come on, we're going," he said angrily and led the boy away. Draco shook his head with a tired sigh, before he turned round and grinned at his family.

"Ready to go home?" he asked them.

"Hang on a sec, I've got to say goodbye!" Leshia complained, and after thrusting Philly's (her wayward cat) lead into her mother's hand, she ran back to where the others were still getting reacquainted. "I'm going now," she called to her friends, and she hugged Katie firmly.

"Try not to turn into too much a swot before I see you again," she said fondly, before she pulled back and hugged Rachel. "Remember, only a grate away," she whispered and then once more she pulled back and beamed at her friends, before she turned on heal and ran to where her parents were talking softly. They waved fondly to their friends as Leshia joined their side and then led the girl home.

XXX

Home enabled everyone in the Malfoy family to relax after the stresses of a very busy term. Hermione could get back to her two favourite things: researching new dig sites, and exploring new recipes in the kitchen. Draco enjoyed the peace of the townhouse so much more to the hassles of Hogwarts, and even though every now and then some God-awful music would waft down from Leshia's room, he couldn't have been happier – he even managed to say no to the majority of extra work the ministry always sent him whenever he returned home. Leshia loved the pace of home life and she would wile away her mornings in front of the television in the 'muggle room' and then pester her parents for attention she would inevitably be granted. Teasing Tally became a daily routine again; so much so that every time the girl left the house the old houself sighed with relief.

On the first Friday of the holiday Hermione and Draco went out for the day. They were going abroad; Hermione to research some fascinating new dig site and Draco to meet up with an old friend who was heading up the site. Leshia had been invited also, but the thought of spending the day in a dusty desert was far too much for the girl and she declined, choosing instead to spend the morning sleeping in and the afternoon in the 'muggle room' relaxing.

When noon rolled by and Leshia started to feel a bit peckish and bored of lying around, she clambered out of bed and made her way down to the kitchen to make herself a sandwich. Here she found a note from her mother:

_We'll be back by nine, Tally will make you dinner, but you can fix your own lunch right darling? We've left some money for you to go into town if you like, why don't you invite Rachel and Katie, I'm sure they'd like to come._

_Thinking of you_

_Love mum_

Underneath this her father had scribbled:

_Don't get into trouble_

Leshia grinned and rolled her eyes, before she pushed the note away and went about making herself some food. Her parents had in fact left her quite a lot of muggle money – evidently intended for the muggle clothes shops, which served as the girls' favourite shopping locations, but for the life of her Leshia couldn't muster the energy to go.

The girl wiled away the afternoon in front of the television, contemplating getting started on a long Charms essay they had been set over the holidays. She wondered how she would get any books to help her, as she couldn't just pop down to the Hogwarts Library. This is when it occurred to her that her father's study was practically a library.

'Won't have any books I need though,' the girl thoughts fondly. 'Unless I want to do an essay on dark gifts and…' She paused mid-thought and suddenly her brain went into overdrive. Her father's books! Why hadn't she thought of it before? If ever she wanted to know anything about parseltongue then now was the time to sneak into his study and find out. With her mission set she rushed off to the hall and peered down the dark tunnel-like hallway leading to her father's study under the stairs. She absolutely hated going in there, but this was important.

So with a resigned sigh she tiptoed forward and pressed against the heavy door leading her into the dark and musty study. Books lined the floor-to-ceiling cupboards and Leshia instantly started scouring the titles. Several of the volumes looked exceedingly interesting. 'Defying death and beyond' seemed particularly good, but Leshia refrained from taking it down and instead continued searching. An hour passed, and still Leshia had had no luck. It would seem, that her father's books had only shed light on the fact that parseltongue could not be learned; it was a gift you either had or did not have. Feeling put out the girl turned to go, but this is when her eyes drifted to the papers on her father's desk.

"Oh no," she whispered when she saw her widgling report poking out from under a pile of others. Here and there red ink shone out at her from between her own words, so evidently it had been marked. Feeling wicked she stood routed to the spot, her fingers on the edge of her paper, knowing that it would be cheating to defy her father's trust and find out what mark he had given her, but wicked was in her blood; she was a Malfoy after all. So ever so gently she pulled it out from the pile and flitted through the rolls to the very last page where a large 'O' gleamed out at her.

"Yes," the girl cheered softly and she quickly replaced the reports the way she had found them and then skipped out. Feeling invigorated by her excellent mark she contacted her friends through the floo network and invited them over. They happily agreed and soon the three best friends were heading towards the muggle high street intent on spending their well-deserved pocket money on clothes galore, followed by a visit to the local snack food bar.

XXX

Over the following week Leshia was exceedingly affectionate to her father, happy that he had given her such a good mark. Ever the suspicious one Draco was curious over her intentions, but didn't complain when his daughter wanted to spend so much time with him. The amount of joyous trips down to Diagon Alley they had together made the week an incredibly happy one, but this brought Good Friday to the family, which meant that it was time to go to Ron and Lavender's cosy country house where a beautiful lunch was being prepared outside as it was such a nice day.

The Malfoys arrived in time for Hermione to help Ginny in the kitchen, and for Draco to help Harry and Ron set up the long table outside. Ron seemed uncharacteristically (as of late) happy, and Lavender's continuing absence could account for this. Rachel's many little sisters were happily playing a game of football down at the bottom of the garden with Michael, Katie's little brother, and upon Leshia's arrival the three friends joined in with the fun.

"So men?" Ron said cheerfully as his friends took the comfortable seats on the terrace at the back of the house. "What can I get you to drink?"

"I don't suppose you've got much whiskey lying about the place do you Weasley?" Draco asked with a grin.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh you know," Draco said cheerfully and he shrugged his shoulders. "You're general inability to keep just one glass of the stuff down."

"Malfoy you're exaggerating," Harry joined in happily. "One glass is giving him a bit too much credit." Ron smiled sarcastically, before he rushed off to get the whiskey and prove the other two wrong.

"Oh no," Ginny groaned when Ron burst into the kitchen taking down three tumblers and going in search of a very dusty bottle of half-drunk whiskey (still left from the last time Harry and Draco had come for dinner). "Not again, why is it that every time you boys get together it turns into a who's the manliest man competition?"

"Don't know what you're talking about," Ron told his little sister haughtily.

"Did Draco put you up to this?" Hermione laughed. "Ron just ignore him, you know he's just a big bully."

"Look what's the problem with a man enjoying a glass of whiskey on a glorious day?" Ron countered with a big grin. "This is my house, so if you don't like it you can get out." After on last cheeky grin the redhead scarpered once more leaving Ginny and Hermione laughing fondly, so happy that Ron had reverted back to normal in Lavender's absence.

The men had barely managed a sip when suddenly the children down at the bottom of the garden started screaming. Nerves still on edge from the days of the war, the men were on their feet in moments and they ran down to the bottom of the garden, instantly to be surrounded by their panicked children.

"What's wrong?" Ron asked one of his many daughters.

"It's a snake daddy," little Ria, Rachel's eight-year-old sister exclaimed wildly and she pointed over to where a small grass snake was winding its way innocently through the grass.

"What that little thing?" Harry laughed. "It's not going to hurt you," he assured the children, but they were watching him with wide eyes.

"It can still bite," Leshia complained from Draco's side, who she promptly poked in the side when he snorted derisively at her cowardice.

"Okay, I'll get rid of it," Harry chuckled and he stepped forward and crouched down in front of the snake. What came next seemed entirely strange to the children as Harry opened his mouth to speak, but the strange hissing sounds of a snake escaped instead.

Katie looked surprised by her father's sudden parseltongue speech as she always did. Rachel looked a little disgruntled, feeling uneasy with the sound of the snake language. Leshia however, had adopted her calculating expression and her eyes were narrowed in thought, before she looked to Rachel significantly.

"What?" Rachel mouthed. Leshia however, kept silent until the dads had returned to their drinks, the grass snake happily on its way away from the frightened children. As soon as the football game resumed Rachel and Katie turned on their shorter blonde friend.

"Is there a reason you glared at me just now?" Rachel asked amusedly.

"I didn't glare at you you muppet," Leshia chuckled. "I was just thinking, do you still have your speech stealer?"

"Yeah, why?" Rachel asked with a furrowed brow.

"Leesh that's brilliant!" Katie suddenly exclaimed. "I wonder if it would work."

"Am I missing something here?" the redhead interrupted with a frown, but then it slowly dawned on her what had her friends so excited. "Oh! You want to see if it can steal parseltongue don't you?" Leshia nodded fervently, before the three best friends ran back towards the house and up to Rachel's entirely messy room. It was a wonder the redhead knew where any of her possessions were at any one time, but she knew exactly where to find the speech stealer she had received for Christmas. It lay under a pile of old books and magazines; along with a few other discarded Christmas things the girl had forgotten to take with her to Hogwarts in January.

"Great, now all we need is to make your dad speak parseltongue, and then we're all set," Leshia crowed happily and she flopped back on Rachel's bed feeling as though she were as high as a kite. They had the key they needed to break into the chamber of secrets. Allseyer was going to get his comeuppance.

XXX

Getting Harry to speak parseltongue though was harder than the girls had imagined. He refused to speak it for the girls when they requested it later at lunch, and their many attempts to fool him into thinking a snake had attacked them again went unheeded and disbelieved. By the time midnight drew by after the glorious afternoon and evening the girls were adamant to meet up over the next day to concoct a plan. As soon as Leshia climbed out of the grate back at home Draco, who had gone first, turned on her with crossed arms.

"So you, are you going to tell me what sort of trouble you're brewing, or do we have to go through the whole me having to find out what it is palaver first? Either way I'm going to find out eventually, so can't you just spare me the hassle?" he told her looking amused and yet also slightly warning.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leshia said lightly and she headed off for the stairs with Draco in pursuit.

"Oh yes you do," he called after her. "You forget, I've spent the last thirteen years inadvertently turning you into me, so I know when you're planning something devious."

"Dad come off it, there's nothing devious going on," Leshia complained and it was into this somewhat-argument that Hermione materialised in the grate. The sounds of her family's voices wafted in from the hall.

"You and I differ on the meaning of devious," Draco countered.

"Oh no," Hermione sighed and she rushed out and stood between her husband and daughter. "No you don't," she told them. "We've just had a lovely evening and you're not going to ruin it. You, up to bed," she told her daughter, before turning on her husband. "And you, in the kitchen, you need to help me fix the stove before everyone comes round tomorrow."

"We'll finish this in the morning," Draco called after their daughter's fast retreating back. Hermione grinned and shook her head.

"No you won't," she countered and she led her husband through to the kitchen. "Just let it go Draco, you know what she's doing. You're the one that encouraged her to do it in the first place."

XXX

The following day Leshia woke early to the sounds of Hermione hard at work in the kitchen. After yawning dramatically, the young girl changed and then rushed downstairs to see if she could help prepare for lunch, when everyone would be descending on their back garden for a repeat of yesterday's performance.

"Good morning darling," Hermione called brightly to her daughter.

"Good morning, can I help?" Leshia asked eagerly and she picked up the knife that lay on the chopping board, ready to be granted a task to be done. Hermione beamed at her.

"You can chop the onions if you want?" Leshia quickly got to work, but within moments her sensitive eyes started to water due to the potency of the chopped onions. Hermione only noticed when her daughter made a loud sniff. "Oh look at you," Hermione laughed fondly. "You're as bad as your father, come here." Lovingly Hermione tilted her daughter's head up and she took out her wand. "_Finis fleo_." Instantly Leshia's tears dried up and she was able to continue with her task unhindered. After an hour's hard work Draco followed his nose through to the kitchen from his study where he had been marking some seventh years' work.

"Smells good ladies," he called to them. "Any chance of a taster?"

"No," Hermione beamed at him. "You're going to have to wait with the rest of them." Draco grinned at her.

"Oh I see, so that's how it's going to be, well in that case, I'm stealing this one," he said indicating Leshia. "Come on trouble, I need your help with something." Leshia shrugged apologetically at her mother, but then wiped her hands and rushed after her father.

"What are we doing?" Leshia asked eagerly.

"We're going into town," her father replied. "To pick up something for your mother." Leshia happily obliged and soon father and daughter had reached Diagon Alley.

"Exactly what are we picking up for mum?"

"You'll see," Draco told her cheerfully and he led his daughter through the busy Saturday crowds to a small chocolatier named Madam Mavis' Marvellous Creations. The tiny shop was packed full of customers eagerly buying the beautiful chocolate creations Madam Mavis had crafted for Easter. Leshia took a particular shine to the little family of yellow chicks, which were enchanted to hop around adorably. The girl loved them so much Draco allowed her to get them for her mother for the following Easter Sunday celebrations.

"Good morning, how may I help you?" Madam Mavis asked as Draco reached the front of the queue finally with Leshia at his side, greedily eyeing up the beautiful assortment of chocolate on the counter.

"I put in an order last week, under the name Malfoy?"

"Ah yes, one moment," Madam Mavis told him jubilantly and she rushed off to collect this mysterious order.

"Leesh," Draco laughed when he saw his daughter reached out to one of the delicious looking sweets on the counter. "Don't touch anything." The girl still didn't seem to want to heed him, so he reached out and pulled her hand back. Within moments Madam Mavis was back and she place a large box on the counter.

"Anything else?" she enquired.

"Yes, these and also one of those bags of hunting eggs," he told the lady, indicating behind her to a row trays containing bags of chocolate eggs specifically created for Easter egg hunts, as they were enchanted to wriggle around moving from one hidden location to the next.

"And," Draco said with a smile. "A bag of these, if it's not too much trouble?" he asked indicating the chocolates Leshia had been eyeing up since he'd brought her to the counter. Ten minutes later and they were heading home, Leshia chewing on one of her chocolates gleefully.

"Don't tell your mother, she'll kill me for ruining your appetite," Draco told his daughter fondly.

"I won't," Leshia's muffled reply came. By the time Draco and Leshia returned home the other families had arrived, and whereas most of the children were enjoying the sunshine in the garden, Leshia found her best friends in her room.

"We've figured it out Leesh!" Rachel exclaimed happily as Leshia walked in.

"What?"

"The way to make my dad speak parseltongue."

XXX

And what a magnificent, yet simple plan it was. All it required was a distraction, and that Leshia was very able to deliver. So the girls waited up in Leshia's room, happily chatting and pouring over magazines, until finally they were called down for lunch. Once more the glorious sunshine ensured that they were eating outside, which only furthered to advantage the girls' plan. Everyone seemed in high spirits as they gorged on Hermione's beautiful cooking.

On cue, as everyone was taking a rest from eating between courses Leshia gathered everyone's attention by screaming loudly and pointing at the middle of the table shouting snake. This in turn created a cascading effect as Rachel joined in, prompting her little sisters to scream also. All this allowed Katie to quietly whisper,

"_Serpensortia_." And as she had pointed under her napkin nobody saw her conjure up a small adder. The snake darted from under her napkin and onto the table where Leshia was pointing.

"How did that get there?" Hermione gasped, but Harry was already on his feet and making his way down the table. He opened his mouth to speak, but once more, the strange mixed hissing of parseltongue met everyone's ears. The snake was powerless to obey him and soon it had been released in the undergrowth, with the direct instructions to leave the diners in peace. The girls allowed the chatter to continue, before both Leshia and Katie looked to Rachel expectantly. She nodded with a small smile to let them know she had recorded the parseltongue, before she dug into the beautiful pie Hermione had crafted. Leshia helped her mother clear the plates away many hours later, while her friends disappeared upstairs.

"How did the snake get on the table?" Hermione asked her daughter innocently, though her eyebrows were raised in curiosity. Leshia frowned.

"I don't know, maybe one of the kids was playing a joke," she suggested.

"I don't suppose you had anything to do with it?"

"Of course she did," Draco's voice came from behind them, and Leshia spun around to find her father looking at her with eyes narrowed in thought. "What I can't figure out is why."

"Innocent until proven guilty dad," Leshia chirruped happily.

"In your case my dearest, I would say it's the other way round," Draco countered fondly. Leshia grinned at him, before she turned on her mother.

"Can I go now?" she asked happily.

"Yes of course darling." So after skirting round her father, Leshia careened up to her room to find her friends were positively beaming with glee.

"No way," Leshia gasped and she dropped down beside them on the bed. Rachel opened her mouth to speak, but as Harry had done down on the patio, the strangest snake language escaped her mouth. "It _works_! I can't believe it! Oh this is too good. When we get back to school Damian Allseyer is going to wish he'd never heard the name Leshia Malfoy."

XXXXXXXXXX

END OF PART VI

Thanks for the reviews everybody! Keep up the good work. Sorry this chapter isn't quite 31 pages long, merely 29. Don't know why that bothers me, but hey. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.

Thanks BornBlue, I corrected the Katie/Rachel thing in the last chapter

Anyway, PLEASE review! I get a little desperate when I spend hours writing and the response is sort of 'meh', I mean enough people are reading! Get off your butts and hit the review button, come on give a little as well as taking


	7. Part Seven

**Generations Part II: Tales of the Last Stand**

**Part VII**

That evening, Leshia went to bed with a large beaming smile on her face. Draco's suspicion of her suddenly glorious demeanour grew tenfold ensuring that he went to bed that night with a worried frown. The following morning brought Easter Sunday to the Malfoy's door, and after carefully laying out the chocolates on the breakfast table amongst the veritable mountain of food she had prepared, Hermione hailed her family down from their slumber. In her messy room Leshia opened one eye to a crack and squinted against the bright light streaming in through her curtains. The thought of chocolate though, dragged the girl from her bed, and after slipping into her slippers she rushed downstairs, almost colliding with her father at the top of the stairs as she did so.

"Watch yourself Trouble," Draco complained as he carried the large mysterious box from the day before down the stairs. Leshia followed him impatiently, getting frustrated that her father was taking an especially long time to make his way down the stairs (all on purpose of course) and that he was blocking her from getting down. After he had lingered more than ten seconds on the bottom step Leshia made an exasperated sound.

"Dad," she laughed. "Get out of the way!"

"Oh I'm sorry," her father said sounding amused. "Am I in your way?"

"Stop it you two," Hermione's beaming voice came and moments later she had appeared in the kitchen archway, an apron tied round her waist and a smudge of flour on her nose. The sight of her made Draco stare adoringly at her. "Let's see if we can enjoy the day without the two of you accusing each other of goodness knows what eh?"

"He's the one that does all the accusing round here," Leshia grumbled fondly.

"Leshia!" her mother laughed. "Enough. Now come on. I've got breakfast waiting on the table."

"Yes miss," Draco offered obediently, though his face bore a roguish grin. He brought his mysterious box through to the kitchen, where a beautiful spread awaited them; Hermione had evidently been working very hard all morning.

"Mum, this looks brilliant!" Leshia exclaimed happily as her eyes took in the mountains of pancakes with syrup, the platter of scrambled eggs, the bowls full of sausages and bacon, and the pile of fried bread. Her eyes gleamed when she noticed the Easter eggs sprinkled in and amongst the plates, and little swarms of the adorable enchanted chocolate chicks milling across the table, but the pièce de résistance had to be the beautifully crafted large wooden eggs that sat at both Leshia and Draco's seats; inside each egg hundreds of chocolate creations glistened with some from of magic illumination of their own. The very sight of the chocolate fantasy made Leshia's mouth water.

"What's that?" Hermione asked with a wary smile, as her eyes took in the box Draco carried.

"Well I knew you'd leave yourself out," Draco told his wife with a happy smile. "So I completely ignored your orders and got your something anyway." Hermione smiled bashfully.

"Draco you know I can't go eating mountains of chocolate," she laughed fondly.

"Well it's a good thing it's not a mountain then." With this Draco placed the box down by Hermione's place. After placing his wand against the cardboard and uttering a silent incantation the card melted away leaving a chocolate masterpiece in its place. The crowning glory and centrepiece of the chocolate gifts was the beautiful delicate heart made of intertwined shades of chocolate and with a glistening red centre. Tiny enchanted chocolate turtledoves had been magicked into flying round the heart. All in all it was beautiful to behold.

"Oh Draco," Hermione gasped and she turned her adoring eyes on her husband. "Its beautiful."

"Glad you like it," Draco said with a small smile, before he dropped down in his seat. "Now can we eat? This looks far too good to let it go cold."

And so they did eat, and then they ate some more. Two hours passed in which the small family devoured almost the entire spread of food Hermione had been preparing all morning. As noon rolled by the diners finally abandoned the table to go and change; they had an Easter egg hunt to join at the Burrow. It didn't come as a surprise that none of them opted for tight fitting clothes, as they all felt so much rounder thanks to the beautiful breakfast they had just consumed. After picking up a basket of chocolate gifts and the bags of hunting eggs (eggs which when dropped in the garden would seek out their own hiding places and keep doing so until found – it was always possible to lose at least half of the damn things, therefore wizarding parents always seemed to buy them in bulk lest all the little buggers get away) Draco had bought the previous day the Malfoys floo'd their way to the Burrow where the Potters had already spent the morning with the clan of excitable Weasleys.

As soon as the Malfoys' eggs had been dropped outside in the garden and Leshia had joined her friends the hunt was on, and before the blonde girl had had a chance to greet her friends properly, she was dragged out to search for the chocolate bounty.

"Come on, let's go look in the field, we'll catch the runners," Rachel suggested cheerfully, referring fondly to the eggs that seemed to have a mindset of escaping as far as they could from their starting off point – this was usually a pretty profitable strategy for the children as many of the hunting eggs seemed to have the escaping instinct. Soon the girls were cheerfully off scouring the field.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back to school," Katie sighed contentedly.

"Me too," Rachel said quickly, suspecting that Leshia might misconstrue the raven-haired girl's motives for returning to school. In truth Rodeo had very little to do with Katie's desire to return to school, but by the quick look of anger that crossed Leshia's face, it was clear she thought this to be the reason.

"Going back to school means dealing with a lot of stuff," Leshia sighed, forcing away the feelings of jealousy that had rippled up her spine.

"Like Allseyer?" Rachel asked worriedly. Leshia hung her head a little.

"Well yeah, him and my grandfather. I think…maybe it's time I told my parents."

"That is such a good idea Leesh," Katie said firmly, before she suddenly dropped from view and pounced at a wriggling egg that was fast trying to get away. After chucking the egg into her basket the girl straightened out and found Leshia looking a little sad.

"My dad is going to go mad," the girl finally sighed.

"Probably," Rachel said with a wince. "Maybe it's just best to leave it and hope that it doesn't come to anything." Leshia grinned.

"You don't believe that do you? He's been biding his time for six years, I doubt he'd make it this far and then just call it a day."

"I just don't want your dad to kill you that's all," the redhead sighed with a small smile. "I mean it's too late in the year to have to get used to a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and I don't feel like making the trip down to Azkaban three times a week."

"Hah! The cheek of it!" Leshia crowed gleefully and she dropped her basket and pounced at her friend, initiating an amusing wrestling cum tickling match. By the end of the it the girls were lying in the long grass sunning themselves, while Katie dropped to her knees at their feet.

"You fight like a boy," Rachel accused her best friend with a grin.

"I do not," Leshia snorted.

"Yeah you do, you fight dirty. I think you've been taking tips from Rodeo, I've seen him and Parys fight, you're the exact same." Leshia's expression went a little stale.

"Trust me, I have _not_ been taking tips from him."

"There's no need to be so hostile Leshia, he hasn't done anything wrong." Both Rachel and Leshia sat up at the same time and stared at Katie, the former dumfounded and wide-eyed, and the latter looking borderline angry.

"Really?" Leshia questioned icily.

"Yes, I mean you did tell him it was okay for him to ask me out," Katie complained grumpily.

"That's not why I'm angry with him," Leshia spat, revealing her jealousy and contradicting her statement.

"It's okay to be jealous," Katie said softly.

"I'm _not_ jealous," Leshia countered furiously. "I'm angry because I _thought_ he was my friend, but instead of supporting me, he told me off." Katie rolled her eyes petulantly and looked away. "No Katie, don't go thinking that I'm harbouring this insane jealousy for you and Rodeo, because I'm not." Katie sighed exasperatedly, but her rebuttal never came as Rachel suddenly darted between her friends.

"This is stupid, since when did a boy get in the way of our friendship?" the redhead asked desperately with a nervous laugh.

"Since Leshia couldn't get the chip off her shoulder," Katie grumbled.

"What?" the blonde girl demanded angrily.

"Well face it Leesh, you think I stole him from you, which is completely stupid because he's not even talking to me anymore anyway." Katie seemed so miserable that Leshia cooled down and looked away. Yes, what Katie had said stung like mad, but she was not proud enough to place her own pride in front of her friend's feelings, and Katie seemed to be entirely distressed.

"He's a stupid boy," Leshia sighed. "Ignore what he thinks." Rachel beamed at Leshia and even Katie managed a small smile. "Now come on, unless we get a move on, then all the eggs will be gone, or we'll end up walking past Hogwarts to catch the runners."

XXX

Hogwarts was a slight exaggeration, but the girls did find an egg in the neighbouring field. The rest of Easter Sunday went by without so much as an angry word. The girls had the last week of their holidays to grow incredibly tired of chocolate and grow tired they did; so much so that by the time the trolley came round on the Hogwarts Express the girls declined, instead opting for their packed lunches of savoury snacks and sandwiches. Mostly, their attention was otherwise detained by the exuberant game of wizarding chess that had sprung up. All in all, the journey was all rather normal, until Leshia went to the toilet and on her return journey bumped into none other than Julius Black right outside their compartment. They exchanged a cool look ripe with hidden contempt.

"Would I be forgetting who my enemies are if I asked you to pass a message on to Allseyer?" Leshia asked petulantly. Julius raised his eyebrows, and this it would seem, was the only response she was going to get out of the elusive boy. "Good," Leshia said lightly and she stepped inside the compartment. "Would you please tell him this?" With this she slammed the compartment door right in Julius' face, before she pulled the curtains across and sat down with a satisfied expression on her face.

"Leesh that was brilliant," Rachel cheered.

"Let's just hope that rat Allseyer gets the message eh?" Leshia said cheerfully. Later that night over dinner Leshia's question was answered. Damian Allseyer spent the entire evening glancing half anxiously and half furiously across the great hall at Leshia. Every time she caught his eyes she cast him her most devious and cruel glare letting him know that after two terms' abuse, she had finally accepted his challenge. Following dinner Leshia and her friends joined the throng of Gryffindors returning to their dormitories where the girl was instantly pulled into the crook of Ryan Lofting's arm.

"Quidditch training starts on Tuesday Malfoy," the seventh year told the girl cheerfully. "So if you could perhaps stay out of trouble so that you might actually attend a practice, then I'd much appreciate it."

"Oh give over Lofting, I'm not that bad," Leshia countered happily.

"No," the seventh year said happily as they reached the portrait hole and started filing in after everyone else. "You're much worse!"

"What are you so worried about anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, starting practice so early, don't we normally get a week to settle in?"

"Ah," Ryan said sounding matter-of-factly. "Normally, but this term we face Hufflepuff." Leshia frowned as she and her captain came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs.

"And?" the girl asked with a cocky grin. Ryan Lofting rolled his eyes and lifted his hands to the sky.

"Do you ever read that book we got you?" he asked her fondly. Leshia grinned sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders. Her captain was referring to the book the seventh years had given her the year before for her birthday, which contained a running commentary and a history of Hogwarts' quidditch matches. It magically updated itself, and this year Leshia had not been such an avid follower of it's updates as she had been the previous year.

"From time to time," she said impishly.

"Well, go and read what it says about Hufflepuff," Ryan suggested. "They're tough, they've won both their matches too." Leshia furrowed her brow a little worriedly.

"Could we lose?" Ryan grinned dashingly and shook his head.

"With you? Never," he told her adoringly, before he reached out and ruffled the girl's hair. "I'm going to miss you shorty," he managed gruffly before he darted up the stairs towards the boys' dormitories. His display of emotion reminded Leshia that this was Ryan Lofting and his friends' last year, and with this thought came the realisation that she too would miss them terribly. Feeling grave Leshia rushed to catch up with her friends, who had already gone ahead and were changing for bed.

"You okay Leesh?" Rachel asked seeing the despondent expression on her friend's face. Leshia forced a smile and nodded jerkily.

"Great," she lied before she quickly changed into her pyjamas before she rushed over to Rachel's bed and dropped down beside her friend, ready for a night's gossiping with Ashley and Nicola; two girls blessed with the uncanny ability to know every single little shred of gossip circulating Hogwarts lofty halls. The pair of them were at it now, and had already lured Katie in with their fascinating social commentary on the romantic status of every boy in the year.

"Smelly Henry's got a girlfriend," Rachel whispered to her best friend the moment the girl touched down beside her.

"No," Leshia exclaimed with a big grin. "Who?"

"Lucy Leech, you know, the beanpole in Ravenclaw?" Leshia frowned, thinking hard of all the girls in their year. The moment she remembered whom this Lucy Leech girl was she started laughing so wildly that tears were streaming down her face. It seemed rather comical (and appropriate) to the girl that Smelly Henry ought to find a girlfriend who had knocked out her own sense of smell with a disastrous potion accident in first year. More laughter was to come as the girls gossiped and giggled into the wee hours of the morning. It was invigorating for each of them to be returned to this place and in the company of good friends, and as such, the first yawn only came around at four in the morning. The girl responsible was Rachel, who quite unceremoniously turfed Leshia off the bed, before shutting the curtains. Leshia grinned and nodded to the others before she too retired to her bed.

The sheets were very inviting and warm, and the girl felt she could fall asleep the instant she had settled down into a comfortable position, but this wasn't to be. Snaking her hands under her pillow in order to support her head Leshia's long fingers found a piece of parchment where there ought to be none. In a jerk she was wide-awake and she sat up in bed, taking her wand and uttering,

"_Lumos_." Light filled her closed bed and within moments the girl had wished she could have kept herself in the dark. Staring up at her from the scrap of dirty parchment was a scrawl she knew well:

_Your time is up_

_I hope you enjoyed your last holiday at home_

With a trembling lower lip Leshia put out her wand, before she climbed off her bed again. The other girls were still chatting, but when they saw Leshia they fell silent.

"Are you okay Leesh?" Ashley asked worriedly.

"You've gone really pale," Nicola added. Leshia nodded jerkily to them, before she looked to Katie, hoping to convey how urgent the situation was. Katie furrowed her brow worriedly and climbed to her feet as Leshia clambered through Rachel's curtains, to be greeted with a muffled,

"No way is it time to get up, I just shut my eyes!" from the sleepy redhead.

"No," Leshia whispered as Katie joined them inside Rachel's curtains. "Look what I just found under my pillow. Once more she performed the Lumos charm, casting light on the nightmarish script. Its words sent a shiver down her friends' spines and they looked on Leshia with wide eyes. "I know," the blonde girl sighed.

"You were saying last week, you know, about telling your parents. Well…did you?" Rachel managed. Leshia cast her a grim look.

"There never seemed to be a right time to do it."

"Well," Katie said softly and she looked down at the note. "I think the right time has come."

XXX

The following morning Leshia had gathered her wits about herself once more, and though still keen to tell her parents, she no longer felt the need to sprint off to their side and babble out the whole sordid story. No, this would require careful priming and planning. The immediate fear of what Lucius was planning dissipated too; it was hard to feel scared sat amongst the nosy Hogwarts diners on that Monday morning in the great hall. Gryffindor's table was awash with noisy chatter as the children filled each other in on their holiday antics.

The first lesson of the day, Charms, went swimmingly, and Professor Flitwick had soon gathered the easily wandering attentions of his second year pupils by teaching them the cheating charm. Following this fun-filled lesson Defence Against the Dark Arts was to come, as was Leshia's first encounter with Allseyer. She had quite been looking forward to it, and was rather disappointed to see that the boy wasn't waiting outside the classroom as he normally was. His friends had gathered, as had that dreadful Julius Black boy, but there was no sign of Leshia's pointy-faced nemesis.

The boy appeared only moments before their teacher did, and had Leshia not been sure the boy was too proud to show cowardice, then she might have wondered if he had timed his entrance to coincide with Draco's. Her father's impending presence meant all Leshia could deliver to Allseyer was a filthy glare, which he returned furiously, before the girl turned back once more and ensured her shirt was tucked in neatly. Draco seemed back to his old self, with a dangerously amused expression on his face that didn't seem right as his eyes were cold and narrowed as though daring the children to step out of line.

"In," he said simply as he held the door open, allowing the second years to pass. They quickly took their seats, their eyes drifting to the front of the class where a pile of scrolls was lying on Draco's desk. Each and every one of them knew what those scrolls contained, and as one their faces paled: their Widgling projects had been marked. Without a word to his pupils Draco aimed his wand at the scrolls and uttered a silent incantation, which sent the scrolls flying to their respective owners. Leshia took her time, while her friends hurried to the last pages of their projects; she did after all know what her mark was due to some holiday snooping. Finally she reached the last page and sure enough, there stood her bright O, though underneath her father had scrawled:

_Either Tally has become fascinated with your marks, or you were in my study little one. The next time I won't be so lenient, you're lucky this project was too superior to mark down_

Leshia rolled her eyes and grinned, before she briefly caught her father's eye and hoped she could convey to him that he ought to know what she was like so he couldn't in all fairness be angry with her. He would have done the same thing after all. Draco returned her look with a somewhat fond, and yet entirely tired expression, but didn't say a word as the class took in his remarks on their projects.

"Your projects were overall very pleasing," he told the class once he felt they had had adequate time to digest what he had said. "Most of you grasped the concept very well and even though you had limited success in trying to socialise your widglings, you tackled the question of their nature very well in your essays. You ought to feel proud of yourselves." The teacher moved over to his desk and leant back against it. "Most of you believed the creatures were beyond redemption; that they are purely born to be nasty and devious little creatures. However, it would seem that this isn't entirely true. Four of you had a resounding success in treating the widglings with so much care and attention that they could in fact make passable pets. Of these two groups Mr Black and Miss Malfoy wrote two astounding reports, so I would like to ask the pair of you to present your findings to the class next Monday." Leshia's lips parted in disgusted surprise. Spend another week alone with that Julius boy?

'Not on your life,' she thought angrily.

"No," the girl uttered quickly. Everyone in the class turned to stare at her; Draco with an extremely affronted expression.

"No?" he repeated and Leshia nodded, her cold eyes meeting her father's. "Well I'm afraid you don't have a choice. Unless you would like me to deduct marks, then I would comply if I were you." Leshia furrowed her brow angrily and looked across the classroom to where Julius Black was looking at her with a somewhat amused expression. Not wanting him to think he had ruffled her feathers too much, the girl adopted a lofty expression.

"Fine," she said and she held her head high.

"Good," Draco said firmly, giving her a look of warning, daring her to act up again. "Very well, this term we tackle a rather nasty branch of curses called the Mutilator Family of Curses…" And off he went, thrilling the children with pictures of gruesome curses and the varying successes of the various countercurses that had been developed for them. By the time the bell went, each and every one of the children wanted desperately to go out and test these new curses, but luckily for Draco (and the victims the children had intended to practice on), the magic was far too advanced for their years and they would never be able to pull them off. As he gave the children leave to go Leshia remained behind.

"I'm not changing my mind," Draco told her firmly when he saw his daughter heading towards him with a determined look.

"It's not about that," his daughter countered lightly.

"Oh…really?" He didn't look so sure.

"Can I have dinner with you and mum on Saturday? I want to talk to you about something." Draco frowned curiously, but nodded all the same.

"Of course. You can't tell me now?"

"No," his daughter sighed; before she beamed at her father and turned on heal to meet her friends at the door.

"Leshia?" Draco called after her, and the girl spun around and looked to him expectantly. "Watch your back okay?" There was concern in her father's face, so Leshia grinned and nodded, before she rushed off with her friends.

XXX

The first day back was rather glorious overall. It was easy to forget about the threat of Lucius or the impeding fiasco of getting Allseyer back. The girls were all in thoroughly good moods. So much so, that not even Julius Black suggesting he and Leshia meet up after dinner in the library managed to put a damper on their moods. After the last lesson of the day, Leshia and her friends ran out into the gardens of the school to enjoy the sunshine. They were instantly roped into a muggle football game by the boys, and Leshia's mood increased tenfold when she saw Rodeo was ignoring Katie. It would seem that for now, the romance department had taken a backseat and Leshia couldn't be happier. Romance was far too confusing and complicated to get involved in in her opinion.

After dinner Leshia didn't even manage a grumble as she parted with her friends at the library doors – they had insisted on escorting her to them. Her mood was far too good to be ruined by a meeting with some Slytherin, even if this Slytherin was a boy she felt hurt and betrayed by. Julius Black was already seated with his report and his notes spread out over the table, and once Leshia had joined him he dived right into a description of what he felt would be apt to put in the presentation. Small talk was evidently the last thing on his mind.

By the time curfew was nearing the pair of youngsters had sorted out the bulk of their presentation. Each had their own section to complete and agreed it would be best if they worked out their own spiels and then briefly met up before the day to see how they fit together. This strategy involved the least amount of contact, something both parties were happy with.

"Thank you for managing to be civil," Julius said softly as he packed away his things.

"What do you mean civil? When am I ever not civil?" Leshia demanded tetchily; they had had such a productive session, why did the boy have to go and ruin it?

"When you're slamming doors in my face," the dark-haired boy remarked lightly, before turning his pale eyes on Leshia. Had the girl known him better she might have recognised the amusement that lay there, though all she could see was mocking contempt.

"You deserved it," she retorted coolly. "Did Allseyer get the message?"

"I believe so. Tell me Malfoy, when have I ever been rude to you?" Leshia scrunched up her face in annoyance.

"Is that even relevant?"

"Well, when I have behaved in nothing but a well-mannered fashion, I find it insulting and against your usual nature for you to suddenly start slamming doors in my face that's all." Leshia narrowed her eyes.

"You know nothing of my usual nature," she growled. Julius Black returned her glare with a self-satisfied smile.

"Don't I?"

"No! Why does everyone assume I'm this goody two-shoes, just because my parents are teachers? I mean come off it, I'm a Malfoy! Doesn't that mean anything to you people? My father and his father before him, and his father before him, they've all grown up in a world far darker than the one we live in now! Everybody assumes that just because I'm in Gryffindor none of that dark lineage has rubbed off on me, I hate it! People have to stop presuming things about me."

"How do you know what I presume about you?" Black asked, seeming suspicious of the girl's outburst.

"Because it's obvious, and everyone's the same. You all act surprised when I step out of line, but for God's sake, none of you have seen half of what I'm capable of." The two children held each other's cold gaze, until finally Black frowned angrily and looked away in thought.

"You're planning something aren't you?" he finally demanded and he looked back to the girl with a suspicious glare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Leshia countered lightly and she turned to her notes and started folding them up. Julius Black gave her a filthy glare before he climbed to his feet and picked up his satchel. Without another word he stalked off leaving Leshia watching after him worriedly. He was onto her, and he was smart. Silently, Leshia counted out a minute, watching the library door, but Julius Black didn't return. After glancing about herself to notice that no one was watching her she reached into her breast pocket and pulled out the strange oblong object, which held five buttons. Two of these buttons were glowing brightly…two voices had been stolen.

XXX

Over the following days Leshia was aware that Julius Black was watching her every move. Granted, the boy was very good at masking his eagle-like watch of her, but Leshia knew all the same. It irked her, and as such she hadn't allowed her friends to open the chamber yet (as they were desperate to do) in case Black was right behind them. She told them they had to bide their time, and that Sunday – the day they had appointed to their 'get Allseyer back' plan – would be the day they opened the chamber and set it up for their plan.

Whether or not Julius Black had warned Damian Allseyer was another question, as the boy had started to look incredibly worried whenever he caught Leshia staring at him, and would often turn up to lessons late in order to avoid running into the girl. This was annoying the blonde girl more than she would have liked, as she wished dearly to deliver her threat in person.

Thursday's Muggle Studies class offered Leshia the opportunity she had been longing for all week. Professor Ramble was late and as the classroom was locked the Gryffindor and Slytherins were waiting outside in the corridor, most of them exuberantly reliving what they had got up to at break. Leshia remained silent with a big smile on her face when she noticed Damian Allseyer approaching with his cronies. They seemed putout that everybody was still waiting outside noisily.

"Now's our chance," Leshia whispered to her friends and they moved to block the corridor in front of Allseyer. The class fell silent and watched curiously – though some, including Rodeo and Julius, looked as though they wanted to intervene.

"Get out of the way Malfoy," Allseyer hissed. Leshia grinned in response and shook her head.

"Why Allseyer, what are you going to do?" The girl's smug smirk was so incredibly mocking, the pointy-featured boy had to restrain himself severely from laying into her once more.

"I'm warning you…"

"No," Leshia interrupted firmly, her expression mutinous. "I'm warning _you_. You've messed with me one too many times Allseyer and I've had enough. Your days are numbered," she hissed. "You've been warned." With this Leshia stepped back and let the Slytherin ringleader pass. His face had paled, but he looked furious with the blood-traitor. Her message delivered, Leshia felt indescribably uplifted and confidant about the plot she and her friends had crafted together. This uplifted feeling was about to diminish however as Ramble's bemused face suddenly slid into view. How long had she been standing in the shadows?

"Miss Malfoy, this school doesn't abide with threatening behaviour. For that little display you can join me in my office Sunday lunch time," the teacher exclaimed as she marched over to the door and pointed her wand at it to unlock it.

"Sunday miss?" Leshia repeated sounding putout. "But I can't!"

"Oh no? You have other plans?" Ramble asked sounding borderline angry. Katie and Rachel spun around and stared their ringleader down, reminding her not to blow it.

"Well…not exactly…" Leshia fumbled.

"Very well then, Sunday it is." With this Ramble pushed open the door to her classroom and flounced in leaving Leshia chewing on her lower lip agitatedly. The Gryffindors filed in looking a little downtrodden, leaving their Slytherin counterparts to follow. Most of these looked smug at Leshia's trouncing, but only one bore a serious pensive expression: Julius Black was onto something.

XXX

Over the next few days Leshia and her friends would go to bed each night with their minds reeling. Every night they would discuss the finer details of their plans until the wee hours of the morning, and even once they had turned in for the night, they couldn't get their minds to stop going over the details. On Saturday morning the girls could have collectively made up a bag of nerves; Leshia worried over how she was going to explain to her father that her grandfather had been stalking her all year, Katie was worried sick that their plan was going to fail and they'd all be expelled, and Rachel feared over what Draco was going to do to Leshia when he found out about all the lies.

The trio remained very silent over breakfast while all around them their fellow pupils chatted excitedly over their weekend plans. The weather was after all quite glorious, which would ensure most of the youngsters would be wiling away their free time in the sunshine – all the better for Leshia's plan to come to fruition. For the most part the girls kept themselves occupied throughout the day with their homework, making a point not to discuss the plan as it would either attract too much attention and they were sick to death of discussing it. As soon as the sun started to dip beyond the mountains in the west, Leshia climbed to her feet in order to make her way to her parents' chambers.

"Leesh, are you sure that this is such a good idea?" Katie blurted out.

"Come on Katie, this isn't the time to be getting cold feet," Leshia urged reassuringly, hoping the raven-haired girl wouldn't let her down.

"I'm not…I just have a terrible feeling about all this," the girl sighed heavily. 'A terrible feeling' was putting it lightly; a more accurate description would be that every time she closed her eyes she envisioned a waving flashing neon sign blaring out 'stop what you are doing right now'. She daren't tell the other two about the dreams she'd been having…dreams that always had very nasty consequences for her blonde friend, lest they think she was going soft.

"Don't worry, it's all going to be okay. I mean, what could go wrong?" Leshia countered in her most easy-going of tones. "We've planned for every eventuality haven't we?"

"I just…" Katie trailed off and forced a bright smile onto her face. "Ignore me, I'm just being a worrywart."

"Okay. Well I'll see you two back in the common room," Leshia told her friends cheerfully and she started heading back to the castle, before she stopped and called over her shoulder, "Let's hope I'm all in one piece!"

XXX

Dinner was absolutely wonderful as usual. Hermione truly was a fabulous cook, and she never ceased to increase her talents by trying the most exotic of dishes. Leshia's parents seemed in two very agreeable moods and all in all, the relaxing atmosphere and her parents' demeanour began to relax Leshia's nerves. Perhaps Draco wouldn't react as badly as she had supposed…perhaps everything was going to be fine.

After dinner Hermione excused herself in order to go and do some quick research in the library, leaving Leshia with her father cleaning up the dishes. Draco waited a mere minute before he turned on his daughter with raised eyebrows.

"And, you wanted to talk to me about something?" Leshia inhaled slowly and nodded, but her nerves had suddenly resurrected themselves and seemed to be trying to tie a knot in her tongue making speech impossible. "Well are you going to tell me, or would you like me to guess?" her father chuckled.

"It's about my grandfather," Leshia finally blurted out, before she focused with all her might on drying the plate in her hands. Her father was staring at her with a dark expression.

"I hope you mean Grandpa Granger," he eventually uttered sounding dangerous. The blonde girl shook her head jerkily.

"No, I mean your father." Expecting a violent explosion of emotion, Leshia was quite surprised when Draco suddenly darted from her side to the liquor cabinet, scrabbling to find his soothing bottle of whiskey and a tumbler; he knew there was no heading Leshia off when she had something on her mind, and he also knew that what she had on her mind on this particular occasion was going to test his nerves. The moment he had downed a tumbler full of the soothing liquid Draco dropped down at the cleared dining table, looking down at his empty tumbler with a somewhat confused, somewhat furious expression. Leshia's instincts were yelling at her to run away, and fast, but she had to persevere. She'd made her bed, now she was going to have to lie in it.

"Dad don't be mad," she said nervously and after she had dried the plate she was holding she dropped down beside her father at the table. Draco glanced up at her with a worried frown; whenever Leshia told him not to get mad he always, invariably did.

"What have you done?" he asked softly. Leshia frowned worriedly and shook her head.

"Well nothing, but…I want to know why you lied to me, why you told me he was dead."

"He is dead," Draco countered gruffly, causing a wounded look to materialise on his daughter's face.

"No he's not dad, I remember the day he came round our house. I remember it!" Draco looked away furiously, quickly refilling his tumbler.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yes you do. He came round and blasted that crack above the kitchen door, and the crack in the tile by the stairs? That was me, I remember it all dad! Your spell didn't work."

"What?" Draco demanded looking genuinely confused for a moment.

"You did a memory charm, you must of done! Well it didn't work."

"No I didn't," her father said firmly and he downed the rest of his drink.

"I think your lying." Draco winced angrily and slammed the tumbler back down on the table.

"You listen to me," he said furiously. "If I would have done a memory charm on you, which for starters I would never do, but if I had? Then you had better believe it would work my girl!" Leshia looked away tetchily. "I don't know where you've fabricated this little story from, but your grandfather is dead."

"I know for a fact he's not," Leshia countered angrily. Draco snapped his eyes onto her, suddenly suspicious.

"Do you?"

"I found a note, saying he was still alive! It was written in your handwriting." Draco narrowed his eyes so severely Leshia was sure he oughtn't to have been able to see.

"You're mistaken."

"No I'm not, it said that he was still alive and the only chance to bring Voldemort back."

"No," Draco repeated, shaking his head firmly. "That's not possible."

"Well what are you saying dad? That I'm insane?" For a moment Draco sized the girl up and down, wondering if perhaps this might be the case. "Dad!" Leshia cried out indignantly.

"No, of course not," Draco complained, before he turned suspicious once more. "This is not a matter for children Leshia, I don't want you to bring this up again." Leshia's jaw dropped and she exhaled exasperatedly. How dare her father dismiss her! How dare he call her a liar worthy of psychiatric care!

"If I'm lying, then how do you explain these?" she finally demanded, before she reached into her pocket and pulled out the collection of notes she had received from her grandfather over the last two terms. It took Draco a long time to bring himself to look at the notes, and when he did he felt his skin crawl as he took in his father's handwriting. Slowly he leafed through the notes, his expression darkening with each one he turned, until finally Leshia could have sworn he was about to lose it. Once he had reread each threatening note Draco lifted his eyes to his daughter, almost shaking with anger and worry. Leshia had never seen him look so dangerous before and for the briefest of moments wished she could be anywhere but here; even in the clutches of her grandfather seemed a safer place to be. Her father opened his mouth to speak, but he couldn't find the words and promptly shut it again. It would seem Leshia was going to have to do all the talking.

"He's here, he's been following me since September," she said softly. "And I met him, at Christmas time down Knockturn Alley. I managed to get away from him." Draco shut his eyes tightly, and Leshia watched as before her eyes the colour drained from his face. "Dad I'm sorry…" Her father's face slowly contorted to intense distress and without warning he reached out and arm and pulled the girl to his side with such force it knocked the wind out of her.

"He's not going to get you," the young man said passionately. "He's _not_." For a few moments Draco continued to shake with anger and concern, until finally he calmed down. "I didn't change your memories," he finally said softly. "I'd never…It was the trauma of it all, it made you forget."

"But why didn't you tell me he was after me?"

"I didn't want to frighten you."

"But…"

"Leshia don't," Draco complained and he reached out with his free hand to examine the notes once more. "I can't believe you didn't tell me about this sooner. I just…can't…"

"I didn't want to be lied to again. Dad…are you mad?"

"Extremely," Draco replied darkly. "But right now there's more important things to worry about." In a flurry of action he was on his feet having scooped up the notes into his hand. "I'm taking you back to your common room, and you will stay there until morning do you understand me?" Leshia nodded quickly.

"What are you going to do?"

"That is not your concern," her father replied bluntly and started guiding the girl towards the door. Leshia bit her tongue, fighting the urge to tell her father that actually, yes it was her concern as Lucius was after her. However, the fact that she was still standing in one piece was a small miracle, so she didn't want to push it. Draco led his daughter through the castle in silence, his mind whirring with the plans he had made back when Lucius had threatened his daughter's safety. As they reached the portrait hole and Leshia uttered the password Draco hugged her firmly.

"I'm furious with you," he said angrily. "When this is sorted out we are going to have a long talk about your behaviour." Leshia nodded grimly.

"Tomorrow," she said softly. "Can I still, you know…leave the common room?" Draco stood back and looked thoughtful.

"Yes," he finally replied and inwardly Leshia sighed with relief. "Just don't do anything foolish." The girl nodded firmly and hugged her father once more, feeling relief flooding over her. It felt so good not to have to worry about her grandfather, and knowing her father was going to protect her.

"I'm sorry." Draco remained silent, still too furious to let everything be all right.

"Go to bed," he said gruffly and he stepped back letting Leshia climb into the portrait hole. As soon as the door started swinging shut he turned on heel and started rushing back down the corridor; there was so much to organise and very little time to do it in. Feeling a little abandoned by her father Leshia made her way through the busy common room to her dormitory where she found Katie and Rachel sat by one of the windows looking anxious.

"Miss me?" the girl called out cheerfully.

"Leshia!" her friends cried out.

"You're okay," Katie exclaimed gleefully.

"Scrap that," Rachel complained. "You're _alive_!" Leshia laughed and joined them by the window, where she was suddenly enveloped in two massive hugs.

"Easy," she chuckled and extricated herself from her friends' arms. "I was having dinner with my parents, not going into the dragon's den."

"Did you, you know, tell your dad?" Katie asked anxiously. Leshia grinned and nodded. "And?"

"He's sorting it," the blonde girl explained. "At least…I think he is. He was pretty mad."

"Pretty mad? God, I was expecting him to explode!" Rachel exclaimed with wide eyes causing Leshia to laugh raucously.

"He very nearly did, I'm sure of it. He's so cross with me, but at the moment all he cares about is finding Lucius. He's off making arrangements or something or other."

"I wouldn't want to be in your grandfather's shoes right now…"

XXX

The following morning the girls felt invigorated by the previous night's events. Even Katie felt sure nothing could go wrong, and all three were rather looking forward to seeing the look on Allseyer's face when he realised he was in for it. Over breakfast Leshia was aware that Julius Black was watching her, and this irked her. How were they going to get away with their plan with him stalking them? Another thing that was slightly off putting were the several absences at the main table; Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape and Leshia's own parents were all absent from their usual positions. Catching Lucius evidently concerned more people than Leshia had imagined.

As soon as the girls had finished breakfast they spent the next hour trying to shake off Julius Black, who had taken to stalking them. Eventually they succeeded in doing so (at least, they were sure they had succeeded in doing so) and they rushed to the girl's toilets on the second floor to see whether after all this Moaning Myrtle's information had been reliable. Would they be able to get into the chamber of secrets? The bathroom was as usual deserted (as was the entire floor, it would seem everyone was out enjoying the beautiful weather). Even Myrtle was absent from her usual perch on the windowsill. Happy for the miserable ghost's absence the girls marched straight over to the sink they had found before Easter.

"What now?" Rachel asked as Leshia attached the speech stealer to her throat, making sure she pressed the first flashing button in order to enable the parseltongue voice they had stolen from Harry during Easter.

"Well, let's see if this thing works," she said cheerfully before she switched the magical device on. What followed was a series of snake commands coming from Leshia's mouth. On her fourth go a strange guttural sound escape the drains and the sinks suddenly started parting. The girls jumped back and Leshia pulled the speech stealer from her throat to watch in wonder as the entrance to the chamber of secrets appeared before them.

"Woah," all three girls exclaimed the moment the sinks had stopped shifting to reveal a dank and dreary looking sewer. The grey slimy walls faded into blackness and for a moment the girls felt wary to continue.

"Well go on then Leesh, after you," Rachel said with a grim expression. Leshia gave her a sarcastic smile, and was about to step forward and take the plunge when suddenly an elaborate shriek and a splash announced the arrival of Moaning Myrtle.

"Who's there?" the petulant demand came and after rolling her eyes at her friends Leshia stepped towards the pipe once more, all set on ignoring the vile girl. Evidently not amused with being ignored the ghostly girl floated out to see who had invaded her slumber in the U-bend. "Oh, it's you," she complained sounding putout, but then her eyes drifted towards the opened entrance and her jaw dropped. "How did you do that you vile little children?"

"Oh shut up Myrtle," Rachel grumbled.

"Yeah, you had your chance to be nice to us, but instead you acted like a pain in the arse, so if you don't mind," Leshia added and she peered down into the pipe.

"You'll break your neck if you fall," Myrtle sang cruelly and for a moment Rachel and Katie looked alarmed. Leshia however, was glaring at the girl once more.

"I highly doubt that."

"There's a nasty great big snake down there that will eat you _alive_," the ghost now shrieked viciously.

"It's dead." Evidently not amused that her taunts had amounted to nothing, Myrtle shrieked dramatically once more before she threw herself to her window perch. The girls watched her with wrinkled brows of slightly disgust, wondering if she had fallen silent at last. Their wish was granted. "Thank you," Leshia uttered under her breath and after inhaling slowly and counting to three, the girl stepped out and jumped.

XXX

Damian Allseyer had been enjoying a carefree morning. That filthy little blood-traitor seemed to have vanished into thin air and all in all the boy was in a glorious mood. After wiling away most of the morning outside, he finally ventured indoors, knowing that that ghastly Malfoy girl had detention with Ramble and that he'd have free-run of the castle. Not that he had been staying outside because he believed her to be indoors, no, who could come up with such a ludicrous suggestion? It had been a nice day, that's all. Yet still, the boy considered, it was nice to know his nemesis was otherwise detained.

Leshia's detention ensured Allseyer had ditched the company of his oafish friends. Having them personally escorting him absolutely everywhere all week had been extremely tiresome and it was very enjoyable to get away from them for a bit. As the castle corridors were virtually deserted, young Damian Allseyer decided he'd stretch his legs and take a walk, to see what sort of havoc he could play while no one was watching. Perhaps he could even pin something on that Malfoy girl and have her expelled. With these jubilant thoughts he set off, ambling round the corridors at a leisurely pace.

"_Pssst_, Allseyer," a voice came from a darkened classroom.

"Who's there?" the pointy-faced boy demanded.

"It's me Black, come here, I want to show you something." Feeling intrigued and also flattered that the elusive Julius Black had chosen to share something with him, Damian Allseyer strode into the classroom.

"Where are you?" he whispered into the gloom. Quite suddenly, and before the startled cry had escaped his lips, a strange silky material was thrown over his entire body, in the same instant that his wand was taken and a strip of material stuffed into his mouth. Before he could struggle away a Julius Black uttered,

"_Petrificus totalis_." And that was it, Damian Allseyer had been captured, and there was very little he could do about it. For several moments the boy wondered furiously what he had done to warrant such an attack. Was Black working alongside the blood-traitor? Surely not, he'd heard the things Julius Black had said about Leshia. It seemed to be that Black hated her more than anyone. "_Wingardium leviosa_," was uttered next into the dark and the next moment Allseyer found himself hovering towards the door. As he was guided into the light he recognised the material that had been thrown over himself, it was an invisibility cloak. In the next moment he realised the trap he'd walked into as Rachel and Katie stepped in front of him and started rushing down the corridor. The boy couldn't turn around, but he didn't need to to know who had him at her mercy; it would seem that the revenge the boy had been dreading, the revenge he couldn't accept Leshia was due, had begun. They traversed the corridors for only a few yards; all the while Allseyer hoping a teacher would come along and find Leshia, who surely ought to be in lots of trouble for missing her detention? His wish was not answered, and before too long the girls had darted into a girls' toilets.

Allseyer stared in shock at the strange manifestation in the middle of the room where the sinks ought to be, and for a ridiculous moment he wondered if all girls' bathrooms had such strange plumbing. The moment Katie and Rachel jumped down the pipe in the middle of the room however, Allseyer began to think otherwise. The blood-traitor guided him towards the pipes and then slowly turned him around, before she released the levitation spell on the boy, letting him drop to his feet. She reached out and arm to steady him.

"Hello Damian," she said darkly, her eyes twinkling with devious mischief. "I gave you fair warning." With this she quickly uttered the counterspell to her body-binding curse that held Allseyer incapacitated, before she pushed him with all her might. The boy was helpless but to fall down the strange network of pipes. As he appeared on a strange bed of old moss and small animal bones he found himself to be held at wand-point by the blood-traitor's friends.

"Don't move if you know what's good for you," Rachel called out to the boy, though she looked a little worried. Now the plan was in full swing the redhead was feeling quite guilty at the look of fear on Allseyer's face. She tried to remind herself of all the pain he had caused her friends, but it didn't work: Rachel didn't have a cruel bone in her body and she was hating every minute of this torture. This was nothing compared to the agony going on within Katie's mind. She too was finding it incredibly difficult to watch Allseyer's terrified expression. Why oh why had she agreed to take part in this plan?

After a few moments Leshia had slid down the pipes and arrived at the boy's side. Without a word she shoved him firmly towards the series of underground tunnels hewed into the rock beneath the castle.

"Move," she ordered.

"You're not going to get away with this blood-traitor," Allseyer scowled. The girls ignored him. "I'm telling you, you're going to regret this."

"The question is Allseyer, is whether you're regretting yet," Leshia said lightly. "You see, none of this has to happen if you repent for what you did to me."

"Never!" Allseyer cried out furiously. "You deserved what you got you filthy blood-traitor. I'm only sad because we didn't manage to finish you off."

"Fine," Leshia said lightly and she gave the boy a shove once more, pushing him down the tunnels. "I don't suppose," she carried on in that same preciously innocent tone of voice. "You've heard of the chamber of secrets." Silence. "Oh, well let me tell you. To cut a very long story short Salazar Slytherin built this big secret chamber years ago under the school to house a monster. Apparently only his true heir would be capable of opening it and releasing this horrible monster, but since his departure two have managed…well three really. It would seem old Slytherin was a little presumptuous, assuming that only his heirs would be blessed with the skills needed to open the door. Well, either we're all heirs of Mr Slytherin, or we're more powerful than he gave everyone credit for, but we've worked it out Allseyer. Would you like to see it?"

"No!" the boy yelped sounding scared for the first time.

"Oh, that is a shame," Leshia said sounding regrettable.

"I'm warning you Malfoy…" the boy began sounding borderline terrified and yet also so entirely furious.

"No!" Leshia snapped angrily, getting annoyed with the boy's nerve. He was in no position to be making demands. "I warned you! You had a chance to tell me that you were sorry for what you did. You had a chance to make it all better, but you didn't! Do you think you can just go around beating the stuffing out of people until they're near dead and not have any repercussions at all? That's not the way the world works Allseyer, _especially_ when you're dealing with a Malfoy."

"You're not a Malfoy," Allseyer growled. "You don't deserve the name."

"Oh, of course, and you do?" Leshia countered lightly and she smiled. "Tell me, when you met my grandfather down Knockturn Alley, how was it you reacted? Oh yeah, you ran away snivelling like the coward you are."

"Your grandfather? You're a liar, he's dead!"

"Yes, that's what I thought too, till I bumped into him." Allseyer's counterattack never came, as the girls had now led him to the flattened dried up remains of a giant snakeskin. It had decomposed to near nothingness in the years since it had last been stumbled upon, but its form was still distinguishable from the filthy ground.

"What's that?" Allseyer asked in a strangled tone.

"Glad you asked," Leshia replied with a smile. "That most likely belonged to the monster you're about to get very acquainted with."

"You're mad if you think this is going to work Malfoy!" Allseyer spat viciously, though the fear in his eyes was clear.

"Well if it doesn't and you still feel that this little grudge match ought to continue, then it was nice knowing you," Leshia said with a small grin as they reached a cave in of rubble. The girl's had spent the better part of an hour clearing a big enough gap to force their captive through, but it still turned out to be trickier than they would have liked. In the moment of temporary confusion Allseyer took his chance and started running once he had climbed through the opening in the rocks.

"_Petrificus totalis,_" Leshia cried after him and he fell still, dropping to the ground as stiff as a plank. "Oh come on Allseyer," she crowed triumphantly. "You're hurting my feelings, after I've gone through all this effort to get the chamber ready for you." Leshia proceeded to unbind the boy and force him towards the door that was looming at the end of the corridor, while her friends hung back a little and exchanged agonising expressions. None of this was right. They oughtn't to be doing this.

Leshia too seemed to be struggling with the cruelty of it when she saw the terror in Allseyer's face, but as they reached the door all the pain and the fear of being dragged out of Hogwarts came flooding back. If she didn't make this boy learn his lesson, then she would either end up buried six feet under, or she'd spend the rest of her life barred indoors in a makeshift house arrest. Even though her conscience was telling her this was so wrong, she had to continue. The girl, still wearing the speech stealer under her shirt, uttered the command as she had done earlier that day and the door swung open squeakily. The hiss of the dozens of snakes they had materialised there suddenly met their ears and Allseyer started to panic, struggling madly to get away. Leshia dove to his side and for the next five minutes the pair battled it out angrily.

"No!" Leshia screamed finally and she gave the boy and almighty shove causing him to fall backwards into the chamber. "I'm not letting you out until you tell me you're sorry." With this she slammed the door shut on the boy to the chorus of his screams. As soon as the door had clicked shut Leshia dropped her head against the cool metal, shutting her eyes tightly, trying to drown out his agonising shrieking.

"Leesh," Katie whispered desperately and she had tears streaming down her face. "This isn't right."

"And what he did to me was?" Leshia demanded and she finally lifted her own face, revealing eyes that were glassy from tears. A muffled 'help' could be discerned from the yelling beyond and Leshia shut her eyes once more. "There's nothing in there that can actually hurt him! We told those snakes not to hurt him, so they won't. The only thing dangerous in there is his own imagination." If she had been trying to make herself feel better she failed, because even Leshia hadn't the evilness to feel joy in another's suffering, even if that other was Damian Allseyer.

"Leshia please?" Rachel whispered and she too had tears coursing down her cheeks.

"Oh don't!" Leshia complained. "If the pair of you aren't going to back me up then just go." The cousins exchanged a glance that said very clearly they would love nothing more than to rush back to the safety of the school, but they were too far submerged in this sordid plan to back away now.

"Wait what was that?" Katie suddenly whispered urgently. The girl's strained their ears, and sure enough they could all make out the boy yelling that he was sorry.

"Do you mean it?" Leshia yelled back. "Do you promise this stupid grudge battle _will_ end?" The boy managed to yell his affirmative response, and Leshia turned on her friends with a smile. "See? I told you it would work." Her friends however, were merely looking relieved.

"Well go on then, open the door and let him out." Leshia grinned and reached to her neck to activate the speech stealer.

"What's wrong?" Katie asked softly, her eyes going wide as she took in Leshia's expression. The girl had gone white and she looked horrified.

"It's gone," Leshia whispered, before she dropped to her knees and scoured the bone littered floor. "He must have pulled it off when we were fighting. I can't open the door." The girl's exchanged a terrified expression while all the while Allseyer screamed to high heaven beyond the door.

"Leshia, do something!" Katie yelped.

"What can I do?" Leshia returned sounding terrified and she turned on the door and started hammering. "Open up!"

"Oh this is all wrong," Rachel uttered and she turned from her friends with her hands over her ears and her eyes tightly shut.

"Leshia!" Katie cried accusingly and the tears were streaming down her face once more.

"Allseyer!" Leshia yelled out, but the boy was too busy screaming to hear her. "You're the only one that can open the door! Allseyer!"

"It's no use Leshia," Katie cried. "He doesn't know what a speech stealer is. What have you done?" The screaming stopped, and for a moment the girls stared wide-eyed at the door. Leshia looked to Katie with tears in her eyes and shook her head. What had she done?

"That's enough Malfoy, let him out!" The girls turned around in horror to find a tall boy approaching them from the rubble of the cave in. He had dark hair and the unmistakable silhouette of Julius Black.

"You," Leshia gasped.

"He's paid his price now let him go," Julius told them as he reached their side and looked up at the door in awe, as though he had been waiting a very long time to cast his eyes on it.

"We…" Leshia began, but she trailed off and looked to the ground feeling ashamed. Julius Black looked to her with a furrowed brow, before he deciphered the situation and nodded. What happened next begged belief. The boy opened his mouth to speak and spoke forth the snake language of parseltongue. His neck was free of any magic device to aid him in speaking the language. He was a true parseltongue.

The girls stared at him in horror as the door swung open revealing a collapsed Allseyer. Julius Black stepped in quickly and dragged the boy out onto the dirty bone littered ground and checked him over for injury. There wasn't a scratch on him, he had evidently fainted.

"He'll live," Julius told the girls.

"Is that all?" Leshia demands and everyone looked on her to see her shaking, with tears of anger and confusion streaming down her face. "After everything he's done to me? And there's not even a mark on him?" Something snapped deep within the girl and she rushed forward seemingly wanting to strangle the unconscious boy. Black was by her side within moments and he took hold of her arms and forced her back. Leshia's anger and grief was so much it aided her in fighting against the boy that stood in her way of getting to Allseyer and they battled it out. Eventually Julius Black pinned her arms to her side.

"Don't make me hurt you Malfoy, I don't have any quarrel with you."

"Why not?" Leshia cried out distressingly. The boy opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of rubble cascading made all the children turn towards the cave in, where the silhouette of a man with long hair stood tall.

"Because of me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

End of Part VII

Sorry it isn't as long this time round, I had my chapter plan and it didn't fill a full 18000 words like I expected

Keep up the great reviewing. Thanks Kas and Betsy for being such great fans of the series :)


	8. Part Eight

**Generations: Tales of the last stand**

**Part VIII**

Lucius Malfoy had found them. Each and every child stared at the hulking figure of a man in varying states of surprise and horror. Leshia looked arguably the worst for wear and she spun on the boy who still held her shoulders in his hands with a look of confused outrage.

"You!" she exclaimed sounding murderous. "You're the one that's been helping him?" Julius furrowed his dark brow in complete confusion and shook his head.

"I don't know who that man is," he said firmly.

"But you led him here!" Leshia complained sounding terrified, out of the corner of her eye she could see her grandfather still standing still by the pile of fallen rubble unmoving, as though waiting patiently for his moment. He knew the children had nowhere else to go.

"No I didn't Malfoy," Julius complained and he looked briefly to Leshia's grandfather with an expression of bold courage on his face. "Who is he?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" Rachel suddenly cut in and she rushed to Leshia's side, extricating her friend from the Slytherin's grasp. "Come on Leesh, we'll all fight him together, he can't…"

"_Stupefy_!"

XXX

Draco was having a bad day. Having spent the morning huddled in a poky little room with the very same do-gooders he'd helped to bring Voldemort down with was trying his patience. He could recognise that these people, these Order of the Phoenix, had done many brave things during the Great War, but he couldn't abide with their yapping. None of them could ever agree on anything, and now time was of the utmost importance; his father was close and if they were to catch him before he got away or worse, before he got to Leshia, then they were going to have to act fast.

Over the years Draco had come to regret his decision to let his father go. In retrospect he looked on his actions as nothing more than cowardice and it shamed him to think he had placed his daughter's safety in danger – and even worse, placed the whole of the wizarding community in danger – due to his inability to finish what he started. He should have killed Lucius Malfoy when he had the chance: fourteen years ago in that smoggy wood during the Battle of the Ages.

"Look this is ridiculous," the young man suddenly exclaimed and everyone temporarily stopped bickering to look at him in surprise. "Enough talk! Why aren't we out there looking for him? We know he's close! We know what he's after."

"Draco," Hermione said softly, attempting to pacify her husband and dissipate the temper she could see rising in him. "It's pointless to wander aimlessly through the grounds hoping we'll catch sight of him. If he's avoided being found so far, he's not about to let himself be caught now is he?" Draco gave his wife a hard look.

"It's better than sitting around arguing. I want to be _doing_ something!"

"Hermione is right Draco," Dumbledore explained quietly and he seemed grave. None of the others could know, except perhaps those closest to the headmaster, how much the old man hated himself at this moment in time. He too felt a failure. How had he not felt nor realised this approaching menace? How had he not sensed it in young Leshia those many times he had encountered her since this trauma began? "Lucius will not be caught through sheer looking power alone, not if he has evaded us all these many months. We must discover who has been aiding him. He has not been acting alone…" There was a frantic knocking at the door and moments later the pretty face of Professor Ramble peered round the door, however, at this moment in time her features were contorted in annoyance and she didn't seem so attractive as she once was.

"I'm sorry headmaster," the young woman uttered and she seemed a little surprised and slightly afraid by the sheer amount of people stuffed into the tiny room. "But I'm looking for Draco." Hermione narrowed her eyes furiously at the woman by the door, at the same time that Draco cleared his voice, indicating his location in the throng of people.

"Something the matter?" he asked sounding putout, as though he didn't enjoy this meeting being disturbed.

"Well actually it's about Leshia," the Ramble explained and at this Hermione mimicked her husband by clearing her own throat. What, did she not qualify to be consulted when something concerned their daughter?

"What about her?" Draco asked seriously.

"She was supposed to show up for detention an hour ago," the young woman explained. The room instantly broke out into a mass of whispers, in which only Hermione and Draco looked to each other in terrified silence.

"Silence," Dumbledore ordered gently and the esteemed members of the order suddenly fell quiet at his command. "Hermione, Draco? Have you seen your daughter today?"

"Only over breakfast," Hermione replied, glancing over to the woman at the door with narrowed eyes. By her side Draco had hunched over his hands, seemingly chewing on his knuckle in worried thought.

"Has anybody else seen her today?" Dumbledore enquired and those who lived at the school shook their heads. For a moment Dumbledore furrowed his brow in thought, before he looked up at Harry, who had been sat keeping mainly to himself in the corner, not wishing to get caught up in the bickering the same as Draco. "Do you still have the map Harry?" For a moment the raven-haired man looked perplexed, but then he realised what old Albus Dumbledore was referring to.

"No," he replied sounding surprised. "I gave it to Michael when he started school."

"Quickly, you must go and find him, there is little time." Harry and Ginny climbed to their feet and rushed out of the room in search of their son.

"Well, I might just go…" Ramble began apologetically, evidently a little embarrassed that she had burst in on such a strange and clearly important meeting.

"No, stay please, we could do with your help!" At his wife's side Draco turned and stared at Hermione in surprise. Why was she willingly offering the hand of friendship to the woman she had blatantly hated all the way throughout the year?

"_My_ help?" the woman at the door repeated unsurely. "I doubt I would be able to help with anything…"

"No please, Hermione is right," Albus Dumbledore suddenly exclaimed and he stared the young woman down until she had taken a seat close to the door. As soon as she had made herself comfortable the venerable old man turned his piercing eyes on Hermione, before he ever so subtly winked.

XXX

"_Ennervate_." Julius Black's eyes suddenly shot open to find the somewhat concerned and yet entirely disgusted faced of Damian Allseyer bearing down on him. "I ought to skin you alive for siding with the dirty blood traitors," the pointy-faced boy hissed evilly.

"What are you talking about?" Black demanded as he sat up and rubbed the side of his head, which had taken a blow when he fell to the floor unconscious.

"I'm talking about you helping that filthy Malfoy get back at me." Although his words spoke of continuing hostility towards Leshia, Allseyer's humble expression spoke of different matters. It would seem that Leshia's trick had worked; for now, Allseyer would shelve his hatred for her for when he might better be able to do something about it.

"I didn't help them," Black countered sounding so forceful that Allseyer furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Then what are you doing down here?"

"Saving your skin you idiot," Black hissed angrily and he looked about at the unconscious bodies of Rachel and Katie. "Where's Malfoy?"

"Don't know, don't care!" Allseyer said simply and he climbed to his feet, all set on making his way back through the tunnels towards the school.

"He's taken her," Black exclaimed in surprise and he turned worriedly towards the rubble in the tunnel where the tall imposing figure of Lucius Malfoy had stood not so long ago. "Help me with these two!" Julius Black suddenly called to his fellow Slytherin and he dropped to his knees beside Rachel, taking out his own wand to bring her back to consciousness.

"What are you doing? Don't help them!" Allseyer complained and he rushed back, pulling Black's arm away from Rachel's side. "They're filthy blood traitors, we should leave them down here to rot."

"I'm not leaving anyone down here," Black countered so darkly and forcefully that Allseyer backed off, giving the boy a disgusted look.

"You're no better than them," the pointy-faced boy hissed and he started storming off. Black glared after him for a moment, his pale piercing eyes narrowed in hatred, before he turned back on Rachel and easily brought her round from her unconsciousness. The boy quickly woke Katie before Rachel had even managed to open her eyes fully.

"Leshia!" Rachel gasped once she'd sat up and taken in her surroundings.

"She's not here," Black told her as he climbed to his feet and placed his wand in his back pocket.

"Where is she?" Katie asked shakily and she scrambled to her cousin's side for comfort and protection. The redhead was glaring furiously at the back of Julius Black's head.

"I think that man took her…_ow_!" The boy rounded on the girls furiously, his hand clasping the back of his head, which had just been struck by a lobbed rock. Rachel, the one responsible for all the rock throwing, had already picked up another sharp stone and sent it flying towards the boy. "Stop it!"

"You betrayed us!" Rachel screamed furiously and within seconds she was on her feet, throwing another rock straight at Julius Black's head, which he managed to fend off with his arm.

"I did no such thing…"

"You led him down here! You bastard! I'll kill you…"

"No I _didn't_!" Black yelled back furiously. "He must have followed me the same way I followed you."

"Why would he follow _you_ unless you were leading him to her huh?" Rachel demanded and she picked up another rock and let it fly.

"I don't know! Stop throwing bloody rocks at me. You're not helping matters! We have to get back to the castle and warn Professor Malfoy that she's been taken, now come on." Rachel, who had picked up another rock looked down at it tearfully.

"Rachel he's right," Katie said softly and she took the rock from her cousin's hand. "Let them deal with him. We have to tell!" With tears streaming down her cheeks Rachel nodded pathetically and allowed herself to be led back through the tunnels. As they ran past Allseyer, he quickly joined them, loathe to be left down in the tunnels on his own. The children soon reached the pipes they had slid down in order to reach these subterranean tunnels, and whereas the two boys stopped running, Rachel and Katie climbed into one of the tunnels. They promptly disappeared. The boys struggled to follow them and soon they too were enjoying the strange sensation of being sucked up the tube by some strange magic they had not realised was in place. They didn't have time to question the girls on it though, as the moment they materialised in the girls' second floor toilets – much to the surprise of Moaning Myrtle – they careened into the corridors heading for the staff room.

"Katie why would there be anyone in there? It's a weekend!" Rachel panted as the children bent double outside the door catching their breath.

"Trust me, there's always someone in there." It would seem though, that Katie's estimation of the teachers' swottiness was entirely mistaken and after five minutes of no response Julius Black tried the door and found it locked.

"What now?" Rachel wailed.

"Arghh," Julius Black growled. "Come with me!" He started leading the others through the corridors towards Professor Malfoy's office, but it would seem their wild goose chase was over.

"Mum! Dad!" Katie suddenly exclaimed when she caught sight of her parents rushing down the corridor in front of them. Harry and Ginny spun around so quickly it was as though someone had lit a firecracker under their feet.

"Katie!" Ginny exclaimed and she ran the whole length of the corridor and hugged her daughter firmly. "You're alright!"

"Auntie Ginny its Leshia! Her grandfather's kidnapped her!" Rachel blurted out and she felt tears stinging her eyes once more. Ginny pulled back from her daughter with concern in her large eyes.

"What happened?" she asked sounding pained, but at this point Harry joined her side and after pulling Katie into the crook of his arm he started leading everyone to the room he and Ginny had been hurrying back to. No on spoke a word as they rushed along the corridors until finally they reached the small room that was temporarily acting as a headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Only once Harry started ushering everybody in did Damian Allseyer step backwards. He had been blindly following the others in the hope that he would come across someone with the authority to punish the girls for what they had done, but all this seemed far too complicated and the boy wished nothing more than to slink away unnoticed.

"I might just go back to my common room…" he began, but Harry grabbed the scruff of his neck and forced him through the door.

"We've got the map," Harry told the professor once he'd shut the door behind himself. "And we picked up some strays on the way."

"Professor Dumbledore its Leshia! He took her!" Rachel cried out and once more a tear rolled down her cheek. For a moment the room was plunged into silence as everybody's eyes turned to Draco and Hermione. Both parents had reacted entirely differently, and also entirely differently to how you might have expected. Draco, who became briefly consumed by his worry, dropped his head to his hands trying to find the peace of mind to continue on. His wife Hermione however, very slowly climbed to her feet, her expression one of utmost evil as she glared furiously across the small room.

"You," the young woman finally whispered.

"Hermione?" Harry asked with a frown, but she didn't heed him.

"It was him!" Rachel suddenly managed and she jumped into the path of Hermione's glare. "That Julius Black was helping Lucius, he led him down there." Across the room Draco's head popped up as though it were a Jack in the box and he suddenly jumped to his feet, dwarfing his still furious wife.

"I…I didn't!" Black tried desperately, finally losing the calm and grace he was well known for under the murderous glare of the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. "I knew Leshia was going to get her own back at _him_, so I've been following Allseyer all day. I have no idea how he got down there."

"You liar!" Rachel screamed at the boy.

"I'm not lying…"

"Yes you are, you…"

"Silence!" All activity in the room ceased as the venerable old man that was Albus Dumbledore climbed to his feet, drawing all eyes towards himself. "You four, go back to your common rooms," the aged headmaster told the four children.

"But professor, he's…" Rachel began furiously, pointing her finger accusingly at Julius Black.

"Now," Albus Dumbledore said softly, his expression darkening. With an expression crumpled in defeat Rachel stormed from the room with Katie in her wake. The two boys they had left behind glanced nervously from one furious adult to the next.

"Professor I didn't lead him down there," Julius Black finally said firmly, having regained his calm and grace. Dumbledore nodded slowly.

"I know." With one last nod Julius Black turned from the room, with his housemate scurrying behind him. Once they had left Harry, who still stood by the door in confusion, shut it quickly behind the boys. Hermione, who had not moved since the children had interrupted her angry outburst, still glared furiously across the room at the person she held responsible for her daughter's disappearance.

"It was all you wasn't it?" the young woman finally spoke. "You're the one who's been helping him! You're the one who planted the note for Leshia to find, you're the one who broke in again and stole it after you'd wetted the girl's appetite. It was all you! The notes! Everything!" At Hermione's side Draco's eyes had become so narrowed he oughtn't to have been able to see, and yet still, he had now joined his wife's side in glaring furiously across the room.

"Draco…"

"No," he said softly. "It _all_ makes sense! That's why you gave her detention today, you had arranged with him to have her taken." Once more the room plunged into silence as all eyes were drawn towards the beautiful blonde trembling woman in the corner. Zahra Ramble had been found out; Zahra Ramble, Lucius' right hand woman since she had been nineteen years old, Zahra Ramble, who had followed Draco around the country in order to keep and eye on him and remain close, Zahra Ramble, who wanted nothing more than to hurt Draco Malfoy for turning her down so many years ago.

_With shaking hands fourteen-year-old Zahra Ramble straightened her hair clip, grinning goofily at her beautiful reflection. Today was the day, she just knew it. Her friends had been casting her silly smiles all day, and whenever opportunity arose, they would burst into a chorus of giggles. They had been infuriating their teachers to the point of distraction. Being thrown from Professor Umbridge's Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson had been worth it, because now, after years of silent admiration and adoration, Zahra Ramble was going to become Draco Malfoy's girlfriend._

_Oh yes, she'd heard the rumours. She'd even seen Draco and that awful Pansy girl doing what could only possibly be called 'canoodling' in the corner of the common room many a time, but she also knew that he felt nothing for the vile fifth year girl. Zahra also knew, that she was by far the more attractive of the two, so surely Draco wouldn't pass up the chance to 'canoodle' with a much more aesthetically pleasing version? Yes, she was two years younger and only in third year, but surely, her beauty would overcome this obstacle?_

_Pushing the self-doubt from her mind, Zahra gave her friends one last beaming smile, before she made her way out to the common room of the Slytherin dungeons. Draco was lording it over one of the sofas with his friends and were Zahra any less than the most confidant girl in third year, then she would have shrunk away from all the burly loud fifth years. After a few shallow breaths she set her jaw firmly and headed out towards Draco and his gang of bullies and airheads._

"_What do you want?" one of the spotty vile girls who had taken up residence in Pansy Parkinson's shadow demanded. Zahra stared coolly at this girl, before turning her attention on Draco. He was regarding her with a strange expression; almost as though he could smell something unpleasant. Unfazed by his obvious lack of enthusiasm, Zahra puffed out her chest and smiled at him enchantingly._

"_May I have a word?" Draco's friends burst into sniggers and for a moment he looked set on joining them, but he managed to refrain himself just in time. Still, the over-confident fourteen-year-old held her ground._

"_Whatever you have to say, you can say it here," Draco finally told her in a drawling tone. Zahra lost a little of her smile._

"_Here?" A stammer entered her voice. Pansy and her posse cackled with laughter, already guessing why the third year had come over. Their jealousy had made them very bitter._

"_Yes, here. Now spit it out, or get lost," Draco snapped at her. Pansy was eyeing Zahra with a snide smile, and she slowly got up and crossed the seating area to where Draco was lounging on a sofa all to himself. Still keeping eye contact with the younger girl she dropped down next to Draco and draped her arms around him, caressing his long silky hair with a self-satisfied smile on her face. Zahra narrowed her eyes slightly at the vile girl, but then looked back to Draco._

"_Will you go out with me?" she asked full of confidence. For a moment there was absolute silence as everyone sat near the sofas turned and stared in dark amusement. What was that silly Ramble girl doing now? Yes she was beautiful, but my God she was weird! After a few moments the laughter of everyone in the common room rose up in a tidal wave of cruel mocking noise. Draco was laughing the loudest, actually holding his sides in an attempt to regain control._

"_What?" he finally managed and he swung his legs around and sat up beside Pansy. "Go out with you?"_

"_Well why not?" Zahra demanded cockily, only to be met by another chorus of malicious laughter. Draco stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes at the girl with the confidence and cruelty of the most efficient bully of his day. While still maintaining eye contact with the young girl he draped his arm around Pansy and then kissed her in such a way that should a teacher walk in at this moment then they would undoubtedly give him a month's detention for such a disgusting act of public indecency. Whereas most would blush and look away, the pack of Slytherins in the common room started to hoot and cheer, and very slowly Zahra felt the colour rising in her cheeks. She did not however, look away and when Draco had finally finished devouring Pansy he turned round to find he could catch Zahra's eyes once more._

"_You will never be good enough for me," he told her callously. "Now get out of my sight." For a moment Zahra stared at him in intense hurt, before a big fat tear rolled down her cheek, once more causing the entire common room to burst into heartless laughter. The young fourteen-year-old fled from the room in tears, not to return for days. She would never live it down._

Very slowly, the beautiful woman got to her feet and started to clap. Everyone stared at her in amazement.

"Well done!" she finally said. "For the smartest witch in the country, you certainly took your time didn't you Hermione?"

"You're pathetic," Hermione snapped furiously, feeling her temper spinning out of control at the thought of her daughter being in danger. "Where is my daughter? Where has he taken her?" A slow smile crept onto Ramble's face, but whereas usually her entire face brightened up with her white smiles, on this occasion, her eyes narrowed in loathing and the combination made her look wicked and frightening and not in the least bit attractive.

"You'll never get her back," she said before laughing cruelly.

"Really?" Draco demanded quietly, though anger and hate positively dripped from his voice. Ramble turned her self-satisfied smirk on the young man who had once turned her down so cruelly those many years ago.

"Yes, really."

"You _are_ pathetic," Draco snapped, having read the young woman's thoughts easily. He didn't even really need his skills in legilimency as she wore her feelings on her sleeve for all to see. "You've carried a grudge nearly twenty years because I turned you down? We were teenagers! You've sentenced a child to certain death because when you were fourteen you got rejected? What is the matter with you?" Ramble's entire head twitched to the side.

"Shut up!" she cried out furiously. "You have _no_ idea, so shut up." Draco shook his head in anger, but a manic laugh escaped his lips.

"You're as insane now as you were back then," he exclaimed. "You wonder why I didn't want to go out with you? You were the maddest girl in the whole school. Even Loony Luna didn't have anything on you."

"Enough Draco," the calming voice of Albus Dumbledore came and everyone in the room, who up until this point had been watching the story unfolding in front of them in surprise, turned to look at the Headmaster, hoping for some sanity to enter the situation.

"No it is _not_ enough!" Draco cried out furiously. "Not nearly enough! She knows where Leshia is and until she tells me it will never be enough." At his side Hermione matched his expression perfectly and everyone could see there would be no arguing with them.

"_Expelliarmus."_

XXX

Leshia groaned and rolled over on the uncomfortable rock floor she had been dropped on quite unceremoniously. Everything was aching, and for a moment the girl was entirely oblivious to what had happened, but the memories did return, and when she became aware of her situation her hand flew to her pocket to find her wand was missing. Not daring to open her eyes she scrambled across the floor until she reached a dripping cold wall, where she forced herself to her feet and finally managed to open her eyes. Had she been expecting to find she had company in her dreary cavern dungeon, she would have been mistaken to find that she was very much alone in the enclosed cave.

Unsure of where her captor was, she edged along the side of the wall in the direction of the small entrance to her 'cell'. There was only one way out, and as the girl could feel the fresh breeze of the open air gently wafting onto her face from this opening, she could only assume that this would be her way out.

She didn't for one moment believe that it would be so easy to escape, but perhaps she might be able to outwit, or perhaps even overpower her grandfather depending on his physical state. Her thoughts cast back to his menacing and hulking figure stood by the caved in rubble and she shuddered; he was a massive man, even taller than her father it seemed (who to her was the tallest man in the world, even Hagrid didn't seem so tall stood beside her father). He hadn't seemed weak in the slightest, and the girl was sure any attempts to overpower him would be as futile as trying to overpower her father. Never in their play fights had she ever gleaned the upper hand for more than a few moments, and in each of these situations it was purely out of her father's letting her win.

She edged further along the wall, making her way through a series of larger caverns until she could see daylight in the distance. Out of desperation she sped up, stumbling towards the daylight like a moth to a flame. The entrance came into view and after a strangled noise of fear the girl break into a run.

"Not so fast." As though he had materialised into place, all of a sudden the threatening form of Lucius Malfoy appeared right in the middle of the cramped entranceway, blocking Leshia's escape.

"Get out of my way!" Leshia shouted shrilly at her grandfather and she glared him down with a furious expression. "I'm not coming with you!"

"No, I expect you shan't," Lucius said cruelly and he smiled darkly. "Sit down." Leshia's face scrunched up into a furious expression.

"_No_!" she cried out angrily. "This isn't happening, who do you think you are?" Lucius looked as though he wanted to roll his eyes, but he refrained before he took a step towards the young girl. She darted backwards, tripping over loose boulders and falling to the ground.

"That's better," Lucius said snidely. "Now, unless you want me to hurt you, then I would suggest you be quiet and listen."

"I'll _never _listen to you!" Leshia cried back.

"You will if you want to live." The girl on the ground frowned angrily.

"You won't kill me," she retorted. "You don't want to kill me." Lucius looked surprised.

"Don't I?" he asked curiously. "Why ever not? I feel I would be most relieved to know that my son and all those he cares for have been wiped out after what he has done." For the first time emotion entered Lucius' voice and Leshia began to fear for her own safety; had she read the whole situation wrong? Did her grandfather want to take her alive, or did he want to torture her father by taking her alive and then…

"What do you want with me?" the girl asked with less bravado. Lucius smiled darkly at her and walked slowly across the cavern to a large boulder he had evidently been using as a chair these past few months, as the surface was ever so slightly smoothed. As he reclined on it Leshia noticed he wasn't as strong as she had imagined; pain streaked across her grandfather's face as he moved and once he had reclined on his makeshift chair he seemed positively dwarfed by his large cloak. The girl considered running, but she knew that hidden within the depths of those robes were two wands that she was very sure he would be able to whip out before she'd even taken two steps.

"To answer your question," Lucius began. "You and that filthy mudblood woman are the only things my son holds dear." On the ground Leshia bristled with this vile jab at her mother, but she held her tongue. "That _wretched_ boy took from me everything I held dear, so now, I intend to do the same thing."

"But what do you want with me?" Leshia demanded.

"I want to make _him_ suffer." Every single word had been expressed with such hatred that it made Leshia's head swim with worry.

"But I remember. I remember that day you came to our house. You said you wanted me to be your heir."

"Yes that is true," Lucius confessed. "When you were only seven years old I believe it would have been relatively easy to mould you into a suitable heir…"

"I _never _would have gone with you. I would have rather died!" Leshia countered fiercely. Lucius studied her for a moment with what could only be described as a putout look on his face. Was her loyalty truly so strong? Why had Draco managed to create a child so loyal to him she would stare death in the face before turning away from him, when his own child had abandoned him at the first opportunity?

"That my girl, brings us very nicely to out current situation," Lucius said with a cruel smile. "Once I may have wanted to steal you from that ingrate of a son of mine to torture him with the knowledge that you had turned from him the same way he turned from me, but now, I see that is impossible. So I must settle for the next best thing, and that is to take you from him forever."

"He'd hunt you down and kill you," Leshia scowled furiously at her grandfather, who began to laugh.

"By then it will be too late for him and his kind," Lucius countered.

"No! It _won't_ be too late! What? You think you're going to resurrect Voldemort and the pair of you will live happily ever after is that it?" Leshia demanded with all the cockiness in the world. "Forget it! He's not coming back, and you're going to get caught and thrown into Azkaban."

"_Crucio_." As though a thousand volts of electricity had suddenly been passed through her body Leshia dropped to the ground screaming out in pain. Her body writhed in uncontrollable seizures as the immeasurable agony surged all over her. For several moments Lucius enjoyed the sight of the child struggling to contain the pain he was causing her, until finally he felt she had been punished enough and he put his wand away.

"I would suggest that you control your attitude," he told her coldly. "Your parents may revel in the fact that they have raised an uncouth impertinent know-it-all, but it will do you no favours here." Leshia crawled to her hands and knees with shaking limbs, before she fixed a look of hatred on her grandfather. For the first time he smiled; oh how like a Malfoy she became when she was angry. It was a shame she couldn't be turned, couldn't be convinced of the greatness of Voldemort, because Lucius was certain she would have made a very suitable heir.

"He'll kill you for that," the girl said smugly, her pain being pushed aside for her arrogance and pride in her father's protectiveness.

"I daresay he would like to try," Lucius agreed. "I welcome him to try." Leshia frowned and managed to climb onto a smaller boulder. The awful truth was dawning on her, even though she was trying very hard to fight it.

"You're leading him into a trap," she finally whispered.

"How very perceptive of you."

"And I'm the bait. But…" The girl trailed off with a deep frown. None of this made sense! Surely if her grandfather were after her father then he could have just attacked them at Christmas time when he had evidently been wandering around London with impunity. Lucius studied the girl carefully.

"It pains me to say it, but I wish to explain to you the brilliancy of my plan and for me to do so, I must start at the beginning. Many years ago, after my failed attempt to take you, your father went running to that doddering old fool Dumbledore, who managed to concoct a spell that was quite brilliant. _Ora Coma_: The boundary that protects those within from those who wish to harm. Yes, Dumbledore was quite lucky to discover the old spell. Your father erected the spell around himself and a few of his closest companions so that if I came near he would be alerted of my presence before I had the chance to do any damage…"

"Why didn't I get one?" Leshia asked with a frown.

"_Crucio!_" The girl slid of her boulder in a jerking motion as for five seconds she writhed under the torturing curse. "Did I say you could speak?" Lucius hissed at the child as she slowly picked herself up and arranged herself on the boulder once more. Tears sparkled in her eyes and she hugged her injured body with her arms, but she would not give the twisted evil old man the pleasure of seeing her cry.

"The spell requires a grasp over magic that you did not possess. I believe my foolish son felt he would be able to watch you closely enough to keep you safe. How wrong he was. One factor he had not counted on however, was that the _Ora Coma _is distorted on these grounds and the effect becomes so minimised that he would only feel my presence if I were standing right behind him. These caves, offer me plenty of cover. He will not escape."

"He's smarter than that," Leshia whispered harshly, and she flexed her muscles, preparing for the agony of the cruciatus curse once more. Lucius' face twisted into an expression of vile fury, but he contained his wand hand and merely shook his head.

"We shall see about that. If I'm not mistaken then that idiot girl I employed to set the trap is spilling the beans as we speak. I always knew she would betray me, and it is for this reason that I requested her services. She will rot in Azkaban, and that is penance enough for me for her betrayal." Leshia frowned.

"Who? Who did you get to help you?"

XXX

Zahra Ramble's wand flew through the air and into Hermione's outstretched fingers. The young blonde woman was cornered as all eyes in the room bore into her. No one spoke as the gravity of the situation dawned on all of them. This woman, this for-all-pretences-lovely young woman had betrayed them all, and she had done so under the radar. Only Hermione had suspected her possible double-handed nature and even though she had been trying to tell anyone that would listen all year, nobody had heeded her.

"Leave me with her." As though controlled by one mind everyone turned to stare at Draco with wide eyes.

"No Draco, I…" Hermione began passionately.

"Hermione, I know what I'm doing. Leave me with her." His tone was so dark and so determined that slowly, one by one everyone in the room started to file out. Hermione remained as she stared her husband down darkly.

"Draco…" she began once more, before she jumped in fright when Dumbledore's long and surprisingly strong fingers clasped around her arm.

"Come on Hermione, I believe Draco is right, we must let him speak with Zahra alone." Hermione shook from anger, before she started to back away slowly.

"She's my daughter too Draco," the young woman said in a wounded tone, before she turned on heal and rushed out, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall. Once outside in the corridor Hermione fled from the curious faces of her friends and rushed away from everyone.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron called after her.

"Let me go," Ginny told the men and she took off after her best friend. Hermione was surprisingly hard to catch, but finally after several minutes of running, the young prodigal witch allowed herself to be caught and she dropped down against the wall in the abandoned corridor. The laughter of the children out in the sunshine wafted in through the windows and the sound brought tears to Hermione's eyes. Where was her child? Was she safe? Were they too late?

"Hermione, I'm so sorry," Ginny panted as she dropped down beside her friend.

"It's not fair Ginny," Hermione sighed. "Draco is so much more of a parent to Leshia than I am…"

"Don't be silly!" Ginny countered firmly. "That's absolute nonsense and you know it."

"No? Then why have I been dismissed so easily? Why has he sent me away when we should be the most united? It's as though when it comes down to it, with the really big decisions concerning our child then I don't matter."

"Hermione this is just the hurt talking," Ginny soothed and she wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulders. "You know that isn't true. Draco sees the pair of you as equals in Leshia's life and you know it."

"Then why did he send me away?" Hermione sniffed as the tears poured down her cheeks. "Why does he always have to have the final say when it comes to her?"

"He's the sort of person that has to have the final say about everything," Ginny said gently. "You knew that when you married him darling." Hermione's beautiful face scrunched up as more tears fell.

"I missed it all Ginny," she stated simply. "I missed her childhood. It doesn't surprise me that Draco finds it hard to share her…he raised her…"

"Stop this right now," her friend countered firmly. "You know that Draco doesn't think that way for a moment, and I know that you don't think that way either. You're upset because Draco wants to interrogate that awful Ramble woman alone, and dear Hermione, don't you think he's the best person for the job?"

"What do you mean?"

"He spent seven years interrogating people for a living, he was the best Auror in the team…if anyone is going to get answers out of Ramble, then it's your husband." Hermione sighed heavily and rested her head against the cool wall. Her tears were subsiding as her common sense took over. Ginny was of course right, Draco wasn't trying to override her, he was just doing his best to find out what had happened to their daughter, and she couldn't slate him for that. After a few more minutes of reflective silence the two women clambered to their feet and made their way back to the others. There was some sort of commotion happening up the corridor and after exchanging a curious glance the two women broke into a run reaching the others just in time to see Ramble being led away round the corner of the corridor.

"What's happened?" Hermione panted, before her eyes fell on her husband's face. "Draco?"

"I know where he is," he said triumphantly.

"Already?" Draco smiled kindly at his wife, his worry being buried for a moment, and he took her hands in his.

"I'm sorry I asked you to leave," he said gently. "But I know how people like this think…it was easy." Hermione smiled genuinely and she briefly leaned up and kissed her husband firmly.

"It's okay, you don't have to explain," she said softly. "Now come on, let's go and rescue our daughter."

XXX

Leshia sat and watched as her grandfather stared out at the rain that had started falling. The revelation that Ramble had been a traitor had shocked Leshia and for a long time she felt infuriated by the woman's double-handedness. Her questions as to why the woman hated her family so much to do them such a grievance as to betray them to a madman went unanswered and so with very little to go on Leshia pondered the situation. There were so many things in her parents' past that she was entirely oblivious to.

"You know of course that when your father joined that band of misfits, this so-called Order of the Phoenix, his intention was to betray them. He was a double-crossing the people he was supposed to be double-crossing for. I suppose he never told you that did he?" Leshia frowned. This was too much information. What on earth did half of those things mean?'

"The Order of the Phoenix?" she asked wearily. Slowly Lucius turned around and stared at the girl with a look of amazement.

"They haven't told you anything have they?" he finally asked sounding delighted. Leshia fought her burning curiosity over her parents' past; she would not give this wretched old man the satisfaction of having her beg him for information. It would seem though, that Lucius Malfoy was quite eager to part with his stories, as they incriminated his son, and it was the adoration that this young girl held her father in that made old Lucius feel sick to his stomach. She needed taking down a peg or two, and he knew stories about her father that would make her blood curdle.

"Many years ago when my Lord was in his prime there existed a group of renegades who rather fancied themselves the underground police I'd imagined. Oh yes they caused my Lord all manner of trouble, but before too long many of them had been eradicated. During the second coming this pathetic organisation regrouped and this time employed the help of your do-good mother and her awful little friends…"

"You know, I don't care," Leshia interrupted, using all her will-power to say the words – she did in fact care, she cared a great deal, but she didn't want to give her grandfather the satisfaction he evidently felt in telling the story.

"Silence!" Lucius bellowed at her and he lifted his wand in her direction. "You wish to suffer once more?" Leshia narrowed her eyes at him.

"I. Don't. Care," she said slowly and clearly. Once more the cruciatus curse flew through the air causing the girl to writhe to the ground in agony. The cruel old man held her under the spell for the longest amount of time yet and by the end of his vicious attack the young girl lay shaking and whimpering on the ground. Even her pride couldn't override the amount of pain she had just sustained and for a few minutes she cried pathetically on the ground of the cave while her grandfather watched on with a small smile.

"As I was saying," he spoke over her tears. "When your parents were on the verge of turning eighteen, Draco was captured and in a moment of brilliant foresight on his part he feigned repentance, wishing to make up for his previous bad behaviour by turning spy for the Order. In return he would be granted asylum. Acting head of the order, that wretched woman Minerva McGonagall persuaded the others that this is what Dumbledore would have wanted and so they allowed Draco to join their ranks. Once he was in their midst he created all manner of havoc unbeknownst to them. Betraying their locations, telling us of their movements, he aided us in eliminating more of them than had ever previously been managed. I was so proud of him…" Lucius trailed off in silent memory, as he pondered these last months when he couldn't have been prouder of his one and only child.

On the ground Leshia had struggled up to lean against the boulder and was watching her Grandfather through slit eyes, her head leaning back in agony, her heart breaking with this awful information. Her father…he had been a traitor.

"The months passed and in the run up to the Battle of the Ages I began to sense my son slipping. He'd been dragged under that harpie mother of yours spell. He was beginning to question everything, and slowly we started to lose him. His last duty to us was on the day of the battle; to place key members of the order in the centre of our most elaborate trap. It would have settled the battle; it would have swayed it in our favour. The agreed upon time came and went and we waited while our Lord battled on in another part of the woods. Most of his strongest supporters had been recruited to spring the trap leaving him to battle virtually alone. Draco never came, he never delivered them to us, instead we suddenly found our positions spoiled and we were dragged into a vicious battle we could not recover from. He had betrayed us, and in turn out lord. I managed to get away…

_Stumbling, Lucius was hurrying towards the valley Voldemort had taken refuge in. His Lord was in trouble, he could sense it. The Dark Mark upon his arm burned in Agony as Voldemort called all his supporters to his side; he was losing the battle and he knew it. Fury practically blinded the ageing wizard as he thought of his son's treachery. How could Draco have turned from them? How could he have betrayed them to those wretched do-good low lives? How could he consort with mudbloods… Oh it didn't bear thinking about. The important thing now was his Lord; he had to get to his side or he would fall, he knew this deep within._

"Reducto!_" The colossal tree in front of Lucius buckled under the spell's power and it fell, blocking his path effectively. Within moments Lucius had reached for his wand, but it was too late. "_Expelliarmus._" Lucius Malfoy's wand flew across the clearing to land firmly in his young son's hand. Draco had found him._

"_You!" Lucius accused threateningly as he rounded on his son, who stood across the clearing wearing a sorrowful expression._

"_Father," Draco said softly._

"_Do not call me that! You are _no_ longer my son!" the silver-haired wizard yelled furiously._

"_You cannot understand…" Draco began._

"_Oh I understand boy, you wish to join them when they are eradicated by the dark Lord. You have fallen in love with that pitiful mudblood and now you are going to die with her. Yes, I understand very well!"_

"_Voldemort is outnumbered and moments away from being defeated, you must see this. You've lost…"In a mad rage Lucius raged across the clearing, his hands outstretched to strangle his one and only child for breaking his heart and bringing down the Lord he had held in such a highly esteemed position his entire adult life. Draco easily dealt withy his father's oncoming attack by locking his legs in a leg locking bind. Lucius fell to the ground in an undignified pose, but Draco soon lifted him from the ground with a levitating charm so they could speak._

"_Release me!" Lucius yelled, his voice breaking and turning manic with anger._

"_It's not too late father, you don't have to sentence yourself. You don't have to go to Azkaban again. Help me," Draco tried, finding it very difficult to look upon his father's broken form._

"_Never!" Lucius cried out. "I shall never help you. You had better know what you are doing boy, because the moment you have released me from this spell I am going to skin you alive. Draco sighed heavily and shook his head._

"_I didn't think you would," he said softly and he approached his father. For a moment he looked to be considering something until finally he nodded once and reached into his pocket for something, taking it out in a handkerchief. "I cannot kill you. Even after everything you have done…I cannot. We will meet again father."_

"_You had better watch your back. I will haunt your steps; I will make sure you never attain happiness. I will ruin you…" The rest of Lucius' howl was no longer audible as Draco quickly released the spell and then threw the powdery contents of the handkerchief at his father. Lucius barely had time to register his release before suddenly he found himself standing on a lone hilltop in the sunshine. His cry of anguish was lost on the winds._

"I don't care about any of this," Leshia lied. In truth, the tale of her father's treachery was quite hard to take in. He had betrayed everyone. It was despicable. Her adoration of him was so firm that any attack on his character always left her feeling slightly sick and this occasion was no different. Lucius could see the effects story was having on the girl and it made him smile broadly.

"I think you are lying," he said triumphantly. "Does it hurt to know that your precious daddy is as low and despicable as those Slytherins you hate so? Does it hurt to know how pathetic his past is…"

"He wasn't pathetic!" Leshia cried out firmly. "He never stood a chance, not with you as a dad. He changed in time to kill that worm Voldemort and that's all that matters."

"_Crucio!"_ The fury in Lucius' tone as he inflicted the pain on the girl was immeasurable. How dare she insult his Lord and Master, how dare she defy his name. Unable to withstand such copious amounts of agony, Leshia passed out from the pain leaving her grandfather shaking as he dropped his wand. He had to preserve his strength…he had to stay strong in order to finish off his son once and for all!

XXX

Draco and Hermione walked ahead of the others. They were fed up of the endless discussions about how they were going to approach the situation. The longer they stood discussing their plan of action, the longer their daughter suffered under the hands of Draco's tyrannical father. After barely two moments of arguing Draco and Hermione had stormed out together and were now hot-footing it over to the cave Ramble had told them hid Lucius and their child.

"We have to think intelligently Draco, your father hasn't just been waiting around to get caught. I'm sure he has a plan."

"I know," Draco said softly and he winced in pain as they soldiered on across the rainy grounds of Hogwarts.

"What is it?" Hermione asked vulnerably. Draco shook his head.

"I should have killed him," he said simply. "Twice! I had the opportunity to end this before it had started and twice I was too much of a coward to do it."

"Don't talk like that!" Hermione admonished him firmly. "You are _not_ a coward! I can't imagine having to kill a parent. I mean how could you? I would do anything to have my parents back."

"Yes, but your parents weren't sadistic maniacs hell bent on world domination were they?" Draco countered. Hermione frowned and shook her head.

"You shouldn't give yourself grief over something so difficult as taking your father's life. I can't imagine the pressure you were under…"

"Can we stop talking about this please?" Draco hissed tetchily. "Look, there's the cave opening."

"So what do we do now?" Hermione whispered. Her husband turned to her with a small smile.

"Go up there," he said simply and he started to lead the way up to the cave entrance. Darkness emanated from within and as the worried couple reached the narrow opening to the network of caves that led directly under the school.

"Stay behind me," Draco whispered to his wife and he took out his wand, stepping cautiously inside the cave and walking forwards into the darkness. Dare he light his wand to see where he was going? Or would that alert his father to his presence? Knowing that his father was probably already aware that his son was on his way, and knowing that due to is _Ora Coma _spell he would sense his father when he got within fifteen yards of him he took the risk and lit his wand.

"_Lumos_." Behind him Hermione copied his lead and they wound their ways through the tunnels, following their gut instincts. It was as though Leshia were drawing them to her through some unconscious magical bond she held to her parents, who helplessly followed, leaving the rest of the rescue party far behind. How long they clambered through the narrow and uncomfortable corridors they could not say, but eventually they reached a vast open chasm with a massive dried up snakeskin spread out over the rubble filled floor.

"Oh God…" Hermione whispered. "You know where he is don't you?" Draco hung his head and nodded.

"The chamber," he said softly. After a look of solidarity had passed between them, the young parents made their way over to the entrance to the chamber, which lay open awaiting their arrival. A dim green light lay at the end of a long corridor lined by statues of gaping snake mouths. Hermione longed to reach out and take Draco's hand, but she refrained and searched deep within for the courage to continue. The image of Leshia's smiling face instantly filled her mind's eye and instantly, she felt renewed bravery. Through the haze the couple could not see what lay at the end of the corridor before the vast carving of Salazar Slytherin's head, but they did not need to aid of vision to know who stood there.

"Leshia!" Hermione cried out once her feet touched the walkway leading down the corridor towards their daughter. She wanted to break into a run, but Draco held her shoulder back.

"No," he told her gently. "Look." His face had paled and rightly so, because as they approached the end of the corridor the scene before them unfolded. There stood Leshia, her head lolling, standing unnaturally, as though she were a puppet held up by strings. Behind the unconscious girl stood Lucius, carefully shielded by the body of the girl, a nasty dark smile on his face as he met the eyes of his petrified son.

"We meet again," Lucius called jeeringly across the gap between them.

"You monster!" Hermione cried out furiously. Draco squeezed her shoulder, which he still held, urging her to stay silent.

"I told you I would have her. I told her I would take her from you," Lucius told them simply. Draco's brow lowered in fury as he came to a halt, dragging Hermione back to his side (she had rushed ahead to her daughter's side) only a few feet from the gruesome scene in front of them. He looked momentarily to his daughter to see that her face was tear-stained and deep within something started to roar in fury and rage and anguish, wanting to break out, wanting to be free so he could unleash all manner of pain on his father.

"You're not going to get away with this," Draco said darkly and he started to reach for his wand.

"Ah ah ah," Lucius countered joyfully, and he indicated his own raised wand. "One move from you boy and she will pay the price."

"What do you want from us?" Hermione demanded.

"I want him to feel the pain he caused me!" Lucius bellowed. "I want him to know how it feels to have everything you value taken from you piece by piece. To be reduced to nothing before your very own eyes. I have been destroyed by you boy!" the old man yelled furiously, causing the girl before him to twitch briefly into consciousness unseen by her parents and grandfather. "But not to matter. I am going to reclaim that life that was stolen from me."

"You're mad if you think you will ever reclaim the life you once had," Draco said angrily. "The world is a different place now. There is no room for dried up old tyrants like you. Voldemort will never return."

"Silence!" Lucius screamed furiously and he took a step closer to the girl hanging helplessly in the air before him.

"No!" Hermione cried out. "Draco don't wind him up…"

"Yes _Draco_, if I were you, I would listen to the mudblood."

"Shut up," Hermione snapped angrily at the long-haired cretin. "What do you suppose is going to happen Lucius? You're going to kill us, and then what? You're in the middle of Hogwarts, how on earth are you going to get away? Half the Ministry is aware of your resurfacing and are now on your tail. You can't win. You can't resurrect Voldemort."

"I said silence," Lucius hissed lowly. "_Crucio_!" For the very briefest of moments the girl before him twisted and turned in agony.

"No!" Hermione cried out as instant tears formed in her eyes and dropped down her cheeks. Draco lifted his wand, all set on running round his daughter's unconscious form and baring down on his father, but before he had even taken two steps Lucius let the girl go from his spell and pointed his wand at her once more.

"The next time, I shall not be so kind," he hissed.

"I will kill you for that," Draco said darkly. Lucius smiled at him.

"I suppose you would like to think so." A stalemate ensued in which all three eyed one another up as though trying to think of the next move. Lucius was enjoying the agony on his son's face and while he toyed with new ideas in which to torture his son the girl in front of him began to wake up. Very discreetly and without anyone noticing she opened her eyes to a slit to ascertain the situation in front of her. She had started the slow climb back to consciousness with all the shouting going on around her, but it was the agony of the curse that had jolted her back to consciousness. Feeling herself weightless in the air and yet able to twitch her toes and fingers discreetly, the girl knew she wasn't bound, but was being held weightless by a spell. Would it still hold her in place if she tried to move? Would she have enough time to move enabling her parents to deal with her grandfather?

Suddenly Leshia remembered her father's unique skills. Over the last two years he had certainly seemed to be very gifted in Legilimency, at least, it had seemed so at all the most inopportune moments. Surely now, when she need it the most, he would express such skills once more.

'Dad,' she thought hard. 'Dad please! Please hear what I'm thinking! I'm awake! I'm going to move the next time he starts to speak.' The girl repeated her thoughts several times, but there was no indication that her father had heard her as she watched him, he still had his eyes fixed on Lucius' face. The girl waited with her heart in her mouth, barely daring to breathe should her grandfather figure out that she wasn't in fact still unconscious. Eventually her moment came.

"So then…" Lucius began, but before he realised what was going on Leshia had thrown herself to the side, barely missing the spell Draco had sent flying in Lucius' direction. It went straight through him.

"Oh God," Draco muttered and he shoved Hermione to the trench lining the walkway just in time, before diving towards Leshia. The air was filled with spells, but the young man managed to reach his daughter before anything struck her. Shielding her with his body he dragged her towards the vast statue of Salazar Slytherin where he sheltered her in and amongst the grooves of the statue's hair.

"Hermione!" he called out desperately.

"I'm fine!" the muffled cry of his wife returned. "It was a _Reproba Statua_!" his wife added sounding impressed; and in truth she was slightly impressed. A _Reproba Statua_ was an incredibly difficult spell to pull off, but when correctly done, one could create an image of oneself to perfect design in order to trick people into thinking it was in fact a person stood where there was in fact none.

"I know! He's still in here, be careful!"

"Dad…" Leshia began pathetically, but she was pulled into a bear hug and silenced.

"I know, shhh," Draco urged her, taking the briefest of moments to bend down and kiss the top of her head. In doing so, he narrowly averted a curse, which in turn smashed into the rock where his head had been.

"_Protego_," Draco muttered, lifting a shield around himself and his daughter, giving them enough time to scramble round the statue to a safer angle.

"What are we going to do dad?" Leshia asked worriedly.

"Leshia keep quiet and stay out of sight," Draco told her firmly while he shut his eyes, taking an immense risk to sense out his father's location. It would seem that Lucius was aware of his actions as even the spells stopped while he cleared his mind of any thoughts that might betray his true position. For the longest time (or so it seemed to Leshia) the silence filled the vast chamber. The girl worried for her mother; where was she? Was she safe?

"Hermione? Malfoy?" Draco\s eyes flew open and he glanced round the protective cover of a statue-tendril of hair to see the rest of the rescue party walking in the door as easy as you like.

"Watch out!" he yelled out to them as further spells filled the air.

"Mum," Leshia cried out when she saw Hermione had been flushed from her hiding place and was joining her friends in their battle against the hidden enemy.

"Stay here!" Draco told the girl firmly. "Do you hear me?" Leshia looked desperately to her fighting mother, terrified for her safety. "Leshia do you hear me" Draco repeated seriously.

"Yes," the girl quickly responded with a heartbroken expression. Without so much a as a reassuring smile Draco darted from her side, dodging spells to join the others in their fight against his father. Leshia watched while they hid behind their protective spells, shooting spell after spell into the nooks and crannies of the vast chamber. It was difficult to pinpoint where the spells were emanating from as they were bouncing off the walls and ricocheting at such strange angles it was impossible to decipher where they had originated.

"Where's Leshia?" Hermione demanded of Draco once he joined her side.

"She's hidden," Draco replied and he held out his hand to point towards the statue. This is when they both saw him; stood above the girl's hiding place, his wand drawn and bearing down on her was Lucius Malfoy.

"Leshia! Move!" both parents screamed out in terror.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_ the cry of Lucius Malfoy came to the bright green light of his curse, before he fell onto his back in an attempt to dodge the numerous spells that had been cast in his direction. Before another round had the chance to reach him, he turned to look at his son, and through the distance even Draco could make out the hugely satisfied grin on his father's face, before quite suddenly he disappeared.

"Leshia!" Hermione's cry came as the tears coursed down her cheeks. As one the mass of rescuers charged down the walkway with the frantic parents at the head of the stampede. It seemed to take an eternity to reach the tendrils of Salazar Slytherin's hair.

"No!" Hermione cried out sounding as though she was in agony, for as they neared the statue a small foot came into view. It was Leshia's; she was lying splayed out on the ground face down. "No no no! Not my baby! Please!" Hermione cried out desperately as she and Draco reached their fallen daughter's side. Draco reached the girl first and as he dropped down at her side he pulled her onto his lap and turned her face up revealing a torrent of blood gushing from her temple.

"What?" he stammered, barely able to breath as he bent down and felt his daughter's pulse. "She's alive!" he cried to the others, and he briefly glanced up in worry as Hermione collapsed at his side.

"What?" she cried, her sobs unstoppable.

"She's alive," Draco repeated with some laughter. "He can't have hit her. I think the rubble got her instead."

"Come, we have to get her to the hospital wing," Dumbledore told the gathered youngsters, fearing for what might happen if they remain. "We do not know where Lucius has gone." As one the gathered rescuers surged towards the entrance to the chamber, Draco clutching Leshia's unconscious body close to his chest. No one questioned how Dumbledore knew the way through the tunnels back to the pipes that would lead them to the castle bathrooms. Leshia's blood was pouring down Draco's T-shirt, and as the group of bedraggled adults emerged in the busy corridors (after all, by now all the children had been forced back inside due to the torrential rain) the pupils started screaming. Dumbledore remained behind to calm them while Draco and Hermione rushed forward with their unconscious child. Before too long they had reached the hospital wing, depositing Leshia on the cot she seemed to have spent innumerable nights on during the course of this violent year.

"Oh my Goodness what's happened?" Poppy Pomfry gasped as the bloodied girl and her parents burst in.

"We don't know," Hermione managed through her tears, which still had not subsided. "Please Poppy, help!"

"Of course, of course," the healer exclaimed and she rushed over holding her wand over the girl, uttering silent incantations in order to establish the damage. Meanwhile the girl's parents waited with bated breath, unable to breath until they knew what was wrong with their child.

"Well," Poppy said breathily and she looked up at the two teachers she held dear. "She's going to be fine. It's just a fractured skull."

XXX

It took Rachel and Katie five minutes to find out that Leshia had been found, and a further three to sprint down to the hospital wing. They came a cropper their parents outside who diverted them and managed to give the anxious parents inside time to fuss over their injured daughter. Finally, after half an hour of Leshia assuring her parents that she was in fact fine, the two girls were allowed in and they were at their ringleader's side within seconds.

"Leshia!" Katie exclaimed through tears. "You're alive!"

"Just about," Leshia managed as she struggled to sit up, giving her mother a reassuring look, who looked likely to intervene when she saw the look of pain cross her daughter's face.

"We've been so worried!" Rachel gushed.

"Well no worries, I'm fine," Leshia told them with a smile. Draco, after offering Leshia a small proud smile, climbed to his feet and then placed his hand on Hermione's shoulder.

"Come on, let's leave them to it," he told her fondly. Hermione looked reluctant to leave her little girl's side, but finally she nodded and she too climbed to her feet. Before Leshia could object she had pulled the girl into a firm hug and she kissed her cheek firmly.

"We'll be right outside," she assured the young girl, before Draco led her out, looking over his shoulder and smiling adoringly at his child. She grinned back before looking to her friends.

"Start from the beginning!" Rachel ordered as she swung her legs up on the bed beside Leshia and snuggled down next to her. "And don't leave out any of the gory details!"

"Rachel!"

XXX

Over the following weeks the story of Leshia's escape from death had spread all over the school and everyone's admiring looks had gone entirely to the girl's head. Julius Black and Damian Allseyer had not mentioned the events of that day, thought several times Leshia had caught Julius casting her admiring looks across the great hall. 'Great,' she had grumbled to herself, 'Just what I need: another admirer.'

In secret she worried greatly over her grandfather's movements, but her parents assured her that he could no longer hurt her; they would never allow it to happen. It appeared that Lucius had in fact escaped via a portkey, and had managed to make a clean getaway – no one was sure of his whereabouts, even though Draco was delving into the depths of his dark contacts to find his father. He would kill him for the pain he caused his daughter; next time, he would not let him walk away.

Leshia had had to relive her experience to about a dozen people, but it was when she told her parents about her experiences in the cave that she felt tears sting her eyes. Hermione had burst into tears at the thought of her daughter suffering under the cruciatus curse and even Draco had seemed close. What had brightened up their moods however, was Zahra Ramble getting a lifelong sentence in Azkaban for acting to resurrect the Dark Lord and this couldn't have made anyone any happier.

Doing her exams under the circumstances was hard and yet still Leshia was sure she had done well. Infinitely harder than doing her end of year exams was picking her subjects for the next year. After endless indecisiveness she finally decided that she would take her mother up on her offer and she put down Ancient Runes – luckily Katie too had an interest for the subject, and as Rachel didn't want to be left out, she too put it down, so she would not be alone. The last day of term dawned before Leshia was ready for it and as the girls gathered on the platform at London after an exuberant trip home, she felt tears stinging her eyes.

"I'll see you soon, I bet before too long we'll be round each others' houses," she told her friends.

"Shotgun not mine," Rachel said firmly and her friends managed sympathetic smiles before they all burst into giggles and hugged one another.

"I'm done with the big adventures," Leshia told her friends. "Let's hope that next year is pretty normal in comparison!"

"With you Leshia?" Rachel giggled. "No chance!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

THE END

**Woohoo, the end :) I hope it lives up to expectations. Thank you Kas and Betsy for being my best ever fans! I've already started work on the third one, so if there's enough demand, I can't imagine it'll be long before I post it :) **

**Peace out (God I'm so gangster :) )**


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